Fiery Pretenses
by theinfinitemidnight
Summary: PostDH- Hermione&Draco are forced to work with each other in order to track down a killer targeting wizards&witches in Inter-blood relationships. Will their closeness result in adding fuel to the fire of hate? Or will it result in something more- foreign?
1. Anticipation

**Author's Note: **Hey guys! This is my first Dramione fan fic, so I hope it isn't _too_ awful. I recently became infatuated with Dramione (although I'm still a pretty hardcore Ronmione shipper) and thought I'd try a Draco/Hermione fan fic a chance. Please, review, let me know whatever you have to say. I'll appreciate every word from my readers, and thank you so much in advance!

**Disclaimer:** Last time I checked, I wasn't the most richest woman in England (;

Hermione Granger was awakened from her peaceful slumber by a tapping on her window. Rubbing her eyes sleepily and reluctantly getting out from under her warm sheets, she made her way to the window to see a tawny owl outside of it, hovering outside as it waited patiently for her to open the window. It hooted in happiness as she smiled and petted the bird on the head then proceeded to take the parcel off it. Grabbing a few treats from the drawer of her mahogany bedside table, she made her way back to the owl, feeding it before it nipped her affectionately and flew off. Running her hands through her mussed up hair, she closed the window and plopped back down on her bed and picked up the parcel.

Unwrapping it after waving her wand over it as a precautionary measure to make sure there wasn't anything dangerous inside, she saw that the package contained the issue of Witch Weekly that was dedicated to her. Smiling to herself, she looked down at the cover, where it stated boldly, "_HERMIONE GRANGER, THE HEROINE OF THE GOLDEN TRIO_" with a picture of herself with her hair blowing and her eyes bright, laughing at the camera in a Marilyn Monroe-esque pose. She laughed to herself, looking in the mirror on her bedroom wall at her crazy bed-ridden hair and thinking to herself how different she looked. For the photo shoot with Witch Weekly, a private team of make up and hair artists had worked on her, making her a thing of beauty and dressing her up in the latest fashion style.

Glancing up at the clock from her spacious bed, she realized that in an hour and a half she'd be starting her first day at work at the Auror department in the Ministry. After the war, Kingsley Shacklebolt had taken over as Minister of Magic and offered her, Harry, and Ron as the new heads of the Auror department, no N.E.W.T.s required because of their services and dedication in the war. Hermione was hesitant at first to take over as one of the heads of the department, for she felt that it was too much power given on her first job in the real world, yet her two best friends Harry and Ron had talked her out of her qualms, stating that it would be an amazing opportunity to keep the three friends together working side by side.

Smiling to herself as she hummed, excited for her first day of work as an adult, she proceeded to go down the stairs from her mezzanine, where her bedroom was located, and into the kitchen downstairs. Hermione's flat was fairly simple- the walls were white and the furniture was modern with glass tables, black leather sofas, and silver chairs, unlike her bedroom and library, which she had decorated with the comfortable and old style of the Gryffindor common room- plush sofas that were big and cozy, colorful rugs, and wooden tables and furniture. Her flat was extremely spacious and gave her lots of room for her thoughts as well as enough room for her flat mate, Ginny Weasley. After receiving with reluctance a considerable sum for her contributions to the war from the Ministry, she had gone out on a whim one day and bought herself the spacious flat, later realizing that she would get awfully lonely in it all by herself. Hermione asked Mrs. Weasley's permission to have Ginny as a flat mate after she graduated Hogwarts and Mrs. Weasley replied with an "of course" and a motherly smile which lead her to her living conditions now, sharing her home with Ginny.

Turning right at the bottom of the stairs, Hermione walked into the kitchen where the smell of breakfast engulfed and welcomed her. She closed her eyes and sniffed in wonderment, then opened her eyes to see Ginny cooking away at the stove, strikingly resembling her mother. Turning around at the sound of Hermione's footsteps, Ginny smiled and hugged her. Pulling back, the redhead said excitedly, "Happy first day of work, Hermione! I thought I'd make breakfast for you today seeing as it's a pretty big day. You better eat up, I made a lot! There's eggs, French toast, waffles, pancakes, sausages…"

Hermione grinned back at her best friend and hugged her again, exclaiming, "Thank you Ginny! You didn't have to do this, you know."

Ginny lovingly made her way out of Hermione's arms to get the coffee and replied, "Of course I did. My big sister has her first day of work today!"

Hermione smiled once more at the girl and sat down at her glass dining table where a whole feast was laid out in front of her. Piling some food onto her plate, she began eating, conversing peacefully with Ginny as she joined her at the table.

Finally, when she ate her fill, she announced as she removed herself from the table, "I'm going to take a shower and get ready. I'll clean up later so don't worry about the dishes!"

Ginny shook her head at Hermione and rolled her eyes playfully, "Mum would be disappointed if I didn't, Hermione. You wouldn't want me to disappoint Mum, would you? I'm going to do the dishes and lay out a wonderful dinner for us for when you get back. Invite Harry and Ron over if you want to and you'll have to tell me all about your day!"

Hermione beamed at Ginny as she made her way back up the stairs to the mezzanine where her bathroom was. She took a relaxing shower, mentally preparing herself for her workday and worked on her hair. After the war, Hermione had become a sort of role model for younger witches- a heroine who went against all the old traditions. She was a Muggle-born witch who proved to be the smartest witch of her generation, who showed the Wizarding world that women were just as capable as men in adventure, and that a girl did not always have to concentrate on her appearance to be accepted. Hermione had started to receive adoring fan mail, and soon enough she was just as famous as Harry and had become a sort of celebrity. Hermione being Hermione, did not bask in the spotlight, yet understanding her position as a role model, took responsibility in all her actions and made sure that she was honorable at all times for all the young witches that were looking up to her, aspiring to be like her.

After finishing her shower, she draped herself in a towel and made her way across to her bedroom. She put on a simple, modest black dress with black heels that were just as simple and modest and pulled on her work robes that she had recently bought at Madam Malkin's. Hermione put some Rectus potion on her hands and ran her hands through her hair, making her frizzy hair turn into natural, soft curls. Now that she was out of school and had more time on her hands, she took maintenance of her hair yet stayed relatively the same, not wearing any make up to prove that girls did not need to be "pretty" to succeed in life.

Looking at herself in the mirror before leaving, she gave herself a confident grin, shouted "Ginny, I'll see you tonight!" downstairs, and stepped into the fireplace in her room in front of her bed, Flooing herself to the Ministry.


	2. Real Adult Work

**Author's Note: **I don't know if this story has any readers, but I'm excited to write this so… still. Author's Note. I hope someone out there is reading, and if you are, please review and give me feedback of what you think! I know there hasn't been much… well there hasn't been any Draco/Hermione action, but I promise you that they'll meet very soon. I hope this chapter isn't too bad, and please, I do hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** If only the brilliance of the Harry Potter series was my brainchild (:

With a flash of a green fire, Hermione was transported in an instant to a fireplace in the Atrium of the Ministry. Carefully stepping out, she surveyed her surroundings, taking in all the details of her new work place. The walls were made up of shiny granite and along the sides of the atrium were several fireplaces where witches and wizards bustled around, arriving to work in the early morning. At the end of the hall, there was a line of elevators, leading the Ministry workers to their respective departments. All around her were men and women clad in robes, busily walking off to tend to their business. After a small sigh, Hermione led herself into one of the elevators and stepped in, squeezing herself in between a burly wizard in blue robes and a petite witch who was glancing down at her talking watch. She rode the elevator in silence, wondering to herself how today was going to go, until a voice chimed out "Level 9, Department of Magical Enforcement". Giving herself a confident smile, Hermione walked smoothly out of the elevator, feigning confidence that she did not feel.

As soon as she took a few steps, a familiar voice called out to her, "Hermione!" Turning around to see who had called her name, she noticed a flash of red and saw that the voice belonged to her best friend, Ronald Weasley. Relieved to finally have a familiar face near, her face broke out into a smile as she cried out, "Ron!" and ran to throw her arms around him.

Ron chuckled as he caught her, returning her hug and inquired, "Ready for today? It's our first day of real, adult work!"

Hermione beamed at him as she recognized his overwhelming excitement that reminded her so much of the Ron that she knew as a child. She could tell that he was repressing the urge to jump up and down in exhilaration and anticipation for the coming day. Stepping next to him and starting towards the Auror department she replied, "Readier than ever! And yes, Ron, it _is_ the first day of 'real adult work'… it's weird. It feels like we should be back at Hogwarts in Potions or something."

Ron smiled fondly at her before saying, "Yes well, hopefully this will be much better than Potions with Snape." Shaking her head affectionately, she entered the large opaque glass door with a golden handle that Ron held for her.

She heard the red haired wizard enter behind her and the door shutting quietly as she looked around. There was an impressive oak desk by the door where a secretary sat, and besides that there were no other objects in the room- there were simply doors that lined around the whole area with gold plates that had the last names of the Aurors that occupied that particular office. Hermione was pleasantly surprised, for she expected a small cubicle for her first day of work, but then with a chuckle she reminded herself that she wouldn't have gotten a cubicle anyway, for she was one of the three heads of the department.

Ron stepped next to her, looking around as well before he grinned, "Impressive, isn't it? Welcome to work, Hermione."

At the sound of Ron's voice, the secretary at the desk gave a lurch in surprise, spilling her coffee and upsetting a pile of papers. She hastily got up and turned to them with wide eyes in a flustered manner. "Auror Weasley! Auror Granger! I'm terribly sorry I did not notice you there! Welcome to the department, your offices are right there and Auror Potter has already settled into his office," she squeaked out hurriedly, "Oh dear me, I forgot to mention my name! My name is Tracy, and I'll be here for whatever you may need. Any research or message delivering to be done, etc. that's what I'm here for."

Hermione glanced over the girl with a warm smile. Tracy was a petite girl who seemed to like bright colors. Her dark blonde hair was held back by a modest white and green polka dotted hair band and she donned a lemon colored sundress that was stained by the coffee that she had just spilled. Her shoes were bright pink and showed her tiny toes that have been painted in a sparkly blue. Glancing at Ron, Hermione said to Tracy warmly, "Hello Tracy, thank you for welcoming us. I hope we'll become good friends."

Tracy glanced back at Hermione with wide eyes and stammered, "Er… er… Auror Granger, would it be alright if I… I…"

Hermione looked at Tracy kindly and asked, "What is it, Tracy? Don't be afraid of me, please, there's nothing to be afraid of. I'm just your regular girl coming into her first day of work."

Taking Hermione's words in and relying on them as a source of courage, Tracy squeaked, "Is it okay if I ask for your autograph?" She lifted up a copy of Witch Weekly that Hermione received this morning, "I'm a huge fan of yours and it'd mean a lot…"

Hermione glanced back at Ron who had been quietly surveying the scene with amusement before replying with a blush, "Oh Tracy, you flatter me. I'm not anything special… Just a regular Auror."

Hermione took the quill that was offered to her by Tracy and signed on a piece of parchment 'Tracy, I hope we'll become good friends as time goes on. – Hermione'. Tracy squeaked again in appreciation and asked Ron to do the same. With a grin, Ron signed next to Hermione's name.

The door labeled "Potter- Head of Department" opened, and Hermione smiled as her best friend stepped out and welcomed her. Running up to her and embracing her in a tight hug, Harry said, "Hermione! It's been _ages_, you need to stop reading so much and see your ol' brother once in a while! I see that git over there all the time-" he said pointing to Ron jokingly, "but I never get to see my sister! Let's go out for dinner after work today, please?"

She looked at Harry affectionately, noticing that his hair was as untidy as ever and taking in his emerald eyes and rather tall figure with love. Hermione beamed at him before saying, "My flat, after work today. Ginny's cooking a whole feast so you better be there- I think she improved her bat bogey hex so declining this invitation isn't much of an option," she said with a grin, "Ron, you too! We have a lot of catching up to do."

Harry and Ron both grinned at her and accepted the invitation. Looking towards the disheveled secretary, Harry inquired, "Tracy, is it all right if I showed these two to their doors?" Tracy, her eyes still widened from shock stammered back, "Su- sure Auror Potter."

With a smile shot towards Tracy, Harry guided his two best friends to doors that had gold plates embedded in them that read "Granger- Head of Department" and "Weasley – Head of Department". Harry's door was at the far corner, Ron's door was between Harry and Hermione's, and Hermione's door was between Ron's and an auror with the last name "Davis- Head of Department". Glancing at Harry, she asked curiously, "Who's Auror Davis? I thought there were only three Heads of Department?"

Harry replied, "Kingsley kept one of the Heads in from before the war. Auror Davis is up in his age, but he's a diligent worker and he's really good at what he does. So there's four Heads of Department. I'm sure you'll like him."

Hermione ran her hand through her brown curls and replied, "All right then! Is it okay if I step into my office?" He gave her an enthusiastic nod and she twisted the bronze handle on the door and entered her office.


	3. Impending Doom

**Author's Note: **I promise Draco's coming up ;) ! Please, read and review!

**Disclaimer:** If I was J.K. Rowling, I'd be in Pottermore by now :(

Hermione's office was very spacious- it was the size of her bedroom and bathroom combined at home. She suspected an Extension charm has been used on all the offices. There were around ten bookshelves containing on Magical Protection and Magical Law lining up the wall by the door, and on the wall to her right was a table that stretched out from one end of the room that stopped at a few feet from the bookshelf in the corner. On the table was a sleek Muggle coffee machine with a mug tree that had modern white cups hanging from them. There was a pile of parchment and an assortment of quills that lay in an impressive wooden box. A few inches away from the wooden box was a basket that contained her mail and not far away from the basket was a nice array of sneakoscopes.

In the corner of the room, a few feet away from the corner bookcase and the end of the table, was a medium sized, circular coffee table with two mahogany chairs. On the coffee table was a glass vase that held flowers. In the middle of the room was a large oak desk that was the size of a twin bed that held her gold name plaque. The chair to go with the desk was a black leather one with wheels that was perfect for Hermione and would make her comfortable in the late nights that she would stay at the office. Behind her was a window that stretched across the whole entire wall with scarlet hangings tied up with golden ropes- a Gryffindor theme. On the length of the last wall were photos of Hermione at her happiest times- with Ron, Harry, Ginny, and the Weasleys.

Hermione hadn't noticed when her jaw dropped open in awe before Ron jokingly asked, "Trying to catch lacewings?"

She snapped her jaw shut but remained in the middle of the room, her heels sinking into the soft scarlet carpet, her eyes wide. Harry said uncertainly, "I didn't know if you'd like it, but I put up the pictures on the left wall… I thought your office could use some personal touch before you got here. You can change the pictures if you'd like, or take them down…"

She threw her arms around Harry and exclaimed, "Harry, it's perfect!"

Both of her best friends chuckled in amusement at her awe. She let Harry go and went to sit at her black leather chair. She sank into the plush of the chair comfortably and felt at home in her new office. The sunlight streaming through the window behind her gave her a natural source of light, and she picked up a thick folder on her desk, raising her eyebrow at Harry questioningly.

Harry and Ron made their way across her spacious office and in front of her desk before Harry replied, "This is the case you've been assigned to. Well, not technically _assigned_ to, seeing as you're one of the Heads of Department, but I saw this case and thought you'd be interested."

Harry had started work earlier than Hermione and Ron, for she wanted a year off to take a break from her adventure and Ron had helped out George with Weasley's Wizard Wheezes in absence of Fred. She beamed at her messy haired best friend appreciatively.

Harry, glancing at Ron and Hermione, stated, "Ron, the Ministry paired me and you as partners… so Hermione, I'm really sorry but this was out of my control- your partner's going to be Auror Davis. He's thinking of retiring before his daughter's wedding, though, so if he does, you'll be partners with his replacement. Is that all right?"

He glanced at her worriedly; both him and Ron feeling guilty, as if they'd betrayed her. Hermione giggled at their concerned faces and stated, "Don't look so guilty, you two, it's not like you guys had an option. I was going to offer that you two be partners anyway, seeing you were partners in crime even before me. So no worries- I'm sure I'll get along fine with Auror Davis!"

With that, she good-naturedly ushered them out of her office, quietly closing the door before making her way to her desk again. She sank back comfortably in her chair before tentatively opening the manila folder labeled "Confidential #3". Her skilled eyes that have been trained to read quickly from her studies at Hogwarts swiftly ran through the rather large pile of papers in an hour. Had it been anyone else reading the case and its details, it would have taken them perhaps three hours.

Hermione scrunched up her face as she grabbed a pile of parchment, selected a quill and inkpot, and walked back to her desk. She summarized the case in bullet points: _Mystery. Murderer kills victims with most likely the Avada Kedavra curse and leaves his "mark" on them by carving some unknown coat of arms on their body. Thirteen murders so far- victims of both genders and wide variety of ages._

She sat at her desk, raking through the pile of papers and making notes for two hours lost in thought until she heard Tracy's voice penetrating the silence in her office. "_Auror Davis is on his way to see you, Auror Granger_," she announced. Hermione concluded that there was a magical speaker system hooking up her office to Tracy's desk and smiled, for magic never ceased to amaze her. Soon enough, she heard a knock at the door and called out, "Come in, please!" Hermione fiddled with her hands nervously in anticipation of Auror Davis. This would be her partner walking in the door- they would need to rely on each other and trust each other one hundred percent, for they may be forced into dangerous situations as it was a part of their job to go investigating.

Her large door opened as a tall man who seemed to be in his sixties walked through the door. His hair was brown in some parts, yet most of it was grey, and he looked at her through kind sparkling blue eyes that reminded her so much of Professor Dumbledore. Hermione rose to her feet and went over to greet her new partner. Approaching Auror Davis, she shook his hand amicably and said nervously, "Hello, Auror Davis, I'm Hermione Granger and I'm your new partner," with a smile.

He looked down at her with kind eyes and responded, "Yes, hello Auror Granger, I've heard a lot about you. Is it all right if we sit? I have a serious matter to speak with you about."

Hermione's insides twisted at that statement, worrying if she had already done something wrong. With a half confident grin she lead them to her coffee table and offered Auror Davis something to drink, to which he politely declined. When they were both sitting down, Auror Davis began to speak. "Auror Granger, it is with my deepest apologies that I break this news to you. I was quite looking forward to working with whom they call the brightest witch of the century," he smiled gently, "yet I'm afraid that I will have to retire earlier than I suspected. I decided to take my leave today, for I realized just how much of my family life I missed while I was caught up doing my work. It's time for me to put family first and I should be there for my daughter's wedding preparations."

Hermione was surprised, for this was not the talk she had expected, yet beamed at the man in front of her, unable to doubt his sincerity and his regret. "It's fine, Auror Davis, please do not feel sorry. I completely understand, family is of utmost importance in our lives. I congratulate you and your family on your daughter's wedding, and although I will miss an opportunity to work with an amazing Auror, I do understand."

Auror Davis smiled at Hermione and said, "I'm so gratified that you understand. But do not think that I will leave without finding you a replacement! The young man that'll be your new partner is extremely qualified and his skills in magic are undoubted. He is quite the gentleman and he is known to be one of the best Aurors in the French Ministry of Magic. He'll be transferring over here tomorrow to take my place as Head of Department. I assure you that he will be the perfect partner."

Hermione nodded at the man that was no longer her partner. He paused and then said, "I do believe you may know this man- he went to Hogwarts as well." Hermione's head snapped up in surprise and asked in curiosity, "Who is it, Auror Davis?" He smiled at her interest and replied, "His name is Draco Malfoy."


	4. Acceptance and Dread

**Author's Note: **Quite a nasty surprise for Hermione, wasn't it? We'll see in this chapter how it all goes… Please, read and review. It'll make me so, so happy. Thank you (:

**Disclaimer: **Hey, we all wish Dramione was canon.

Hermione's heart lurched in surprise. _Draco __**Malfoy**_? As in the git that made her seven years at Hogwarts so infuriating at times? A known _Death Eater _and the son of one of the most notorious Death Eaters there ever has been? Auror Davis continued on to talk, not noticing Hermione's internal battle, "…see some of his wand work, it's brilliant. Auror Malfoy's caught so many Death Eaters that are trying to cause trouble again- he even put his own father in Azkaban…"

He looked up from speaking when he noticed that Hermione has gone quite silent. Peering at her in genuine concern, he queried, "Are you all right, Auror Granger? Do you have qualms about Auror Malfoy? I assure you that his allegiance is no longer with the Death Eaters, if that's what you're concerned about."

Hermione, who snapped back to reality with the sound of Auror Davis's voice, pulled her professional air back on and replied with a strained smile, "I'm quite all right, Auror Davis. It just came as a shock, that's all. Auror Malfoy and I attended school together and graduated together- we were in the same year. I haven't seen him in quite some time." _And I hoped to never see __**that**__ bloody git again_ she finished in her head.

Beaming at her, Auror Davis exclaimed, "Fantastic. Then I'm sure you two will get along very well as partners. Auror Malfoy is moving into his new found flat in London today so you will meet with him tomorrow morning to perform the binding ceremony and get working on your case."

She groaned internally, remembering that all Aurors and their partners had to go through a magical binding ceremony where they swore to protect each other at all circumstances and never to betray each other, ensuring both the Aurors' allegiance to both each other and the Ministry. Putting on another fake smile Hermione said to the kind man, "That's great. I'm glad I had a chance to meet you, Auror Davis. It's been an honor."

Auror Davis rose from the table, stretching his long legs. Smiling down at the young Auror, he stated, "Send me an owl anytime you need help. I'll be glad to be of assistance. After all, it'll be hard to go from working all day to being able to relax, so I actually insist of you, please do owl. I'll be collecting my things and leaving at the end of the day- it was an absolute pleasure to meet you, Auror Granger. I'm sure you're a priceless addition to the department." With that, Auror Davis led himself out of Hermione's office and closed the door shut.

..0.

Hermione still sat in her coffee chair, unable to process the information. _She_ had to work with _Draco Malfoy_, and not just _work_ with him, but be his _partner_. From her prior research of the job of an Auror, it was highly unlikely, perhaps one out of ten thousand for Aurors to ever switch partners in their lifetime unless the other one was incapacitated beyond healing or had died. She threw a silent temper tantrum before making her way dazedly back to her desk and staring at the paperwork that she'd done in the past two hours, unseeing. She kept thinking to herself, _Draco Malfoy. Malfoy. The guy who never failed to remind me of my blood status… not to mention that I don't believe it one bit that he came over to the good side. That slimy snake._ She clutched at her soft hair in indignation before making herself focus on the case again. Hermione decided that it was fruitless to throw a tantrum for it would not change things. She'd just have to deal with Malfoy in a professional matter and keep her head. Turning to a new piece of parchment and dipping her quill in the inkpot, she lost herself and thoughts in the case and worked her way through lunch, turning away Harry and Ron without noticing it, and into the night.

Hermione looked up when she felt a presence in front of her desk. Her eyes met Ron's bright blue ones and he smiled at her and shook his head. "Auror Granger, it's imperative for a young witch to stay alive and not get hexed to death by her best friend, so I suggest you pack up your things and get ready to meet Auror Potter and myself at the lifts in five minutes."

Dropping his fake professional air, he grinned and said, "Ginny's gone mad with waiting, you know her and patience… and how she's got none. She sent Harry and me ten owls in total in the past fifteen minutes. I don't want to be a victim of her Bat-Bogey Hex, so please, do move along."

She shook out her hand that was cramped from gripping her quill too hard for a long period of time and noticed that her stomach grumbled. "Well, I _am_ hungry, I suppose," she stated finally. Taking that as a yes to meeting himself and Harry at the lifts, Ron shook his head affectionately before leading himself out of her office and thinking not much has changed with Hermione Granger from her Hogwarts days.

..0.

Ron and Harry chattered happily about their day, with Hermione throwing in random interjections once in a while so they didn't notice that she was upset. They made their way down to the Atrium and flooed themselves to Hermione's flat in London. As soon as Hermione's vision cleared and she made her way out of the living room fireplace, Ginny scrambled over to her and tackled her in a bear hug exclaiming, "Hermione Granger, WELCOME HOME, HOW WAS WORK? WAS EVERYONE NICE TO YOU? IS YOUR OFFICE OKAY? DID THESE TWO BOTHER YOU?"

Hermione felt rather dizzy, being bombarded with questions. Luckily, Ron came to her rescue by interrupting Ginny, "Oh Gin, give Hermione some room to breathe and come hug your brother." Ginny threw Ron a wistful look before throwing her arms around him and giving Harry a passionate kiss that was broken up by Ron's disgusted shout of, "Come on, guys! Not in front of me!"

The happy group made their way to the large glass table by Hermione and Ginny's kitchen. On it was a whole feast made by Ginny of every food imaginable. Creamed potatoes, turkey, smoked ham, various assortment of pastas, salad, bouillabaisse, sushi, and more foods that Hermione could not recognize lay on the table. Hermione gasped and stated, "Ginny, you've outdone yourself! This is even more than Mrs. Weasley!"

Ginny beamed at all of them and ushered them to sit down. Sitting next to Ron and across from Ginny who sat next to Harry, she helped herself to a big helping of food. She ate quietly and kept her thoughts of Malfoy to herself until everyone at the table turned to look at her quizzically. She hadn't noticed until she looked up from her plate. All three faces looked at her in anxiety and Ginny asked, "Are you okay, Hermione? You haven't said a word since you got here and your eyebrows are scrunching up like they do when you're worried or nervous."

Before she could reply, Ginny said firmly, "And _don't_ try to lie and insult our intelligence, Hermione. We know something's bothering you." Harry and Ron nodded in agreement. With a sigh, Hermione put her fork down and wiped her mouth with the scarlet napkin laying on her lap tiredly.

"I just found out that Malfoy's going to be my new partner," she confessed quietly.

All three of the faces sitting around the table portrayed horror. "What?" Harry exclaimed.

Hermione nodded and continued, "Auror Davis left for retirement today and he replaced himself with Malfoy. Apparently he's an amazing Auror and was the Head of Department at the French Ministry of Magic. He got the day off today for moving into his new flat and we're doing the bonding ceremony tomorrow morning."

She glanced around the table and found that Ron was too shocked to speak. His mouth was hanging open and his arm was in mid air for his fork never made it to his mouth. Ginny finally broke the silence by asking, "But wasn't Malfoy a Death Eater? Are you sure it's safe for him to be working with you? What if he turns around and tries to hurt you?"

Harry shook his head and stated, "No, he's trustworthy. According to a few very reliable sources, he's entirely into his work and he's changed. That doesn't matter much, but it's the fact that he always was insulting Hermione and looking down at her that's concerning me."

Ron, finally recovering his ability to speak sputtered out, "Is there anything we can do? Get another replacement for Davis, just something! He's going to make her life hell!"

Hermione shook her head sadly in response. "No, from what I researched about being an Auror, the person retiring has every right to pick whoever they'd like with appropriate credentials to take their spot. That person just has to pass a background check by the Ministry, which Malfoy obviously did." She returned to eating her food and suddenly grew very tired.

After Harry and Ron left with promises that they'd make sure Malfoy was in pieces if he ever called her 'Mudblood' and letting Ginny soothe her, Hermione took a relaxing bath, bid goodnight to Ginny, and lay in her bed thinking about the morning to come. Tomorrow morning she'd be bound to Malfoy as his Auror partner, and they'd have to trust each other with their lives. She felt queasy at the thought of Malfoy being responsible for her life and drifted off into a restless sleep, dreading the morning.


	5. The Slytherin Prince

**Author's Note**: Finally, Draco's in our story. I didn't get a chance to proofread because I have a huge headache and I'm oh so very tired, so if there are any blatant mistakes or there's a bunch of incoherent sentences, I am _very very extremely_ sorry! And I'll try to fix it ASAP! Please, read and review, it makes my day, no matter what you have to say. (_OH LOOKIE HERE, IT RHYMES._)

**Disclaimer: **Oops, I forgot a disclaimer for other chapters… don't sue me, I'm doing it here! Hehe. As much as I want the brilliance of Harry Potter to be my own original idea, it's not.

Draco Malfoy glanced around his empty office in France once more before he stepped out and shut the door. The moment the door closed, the golden plaque that read 'Malfoy -Chef du Département" cleared instantly. His thin lips formed into a smirk as he thought of where his next office would be- right next to Hermione Granger's. He ran his hand through his soft, platinum blonde hair once before turning around to focus his attention on the secretary of the Department, Aceline. She fluttered her eyelashes at him and got teary eyed, saying, "Tu vas me manquer, Auror Malfoy. Promettez que vous allez visiter?"

He retched internally- he hated girls that got emotional over nothing and clung to him like a bunch of leeches. But true to the quintessential Malfoy traits, he kept a cool exterior that offered no insight into what he was really thinking, and flashed the secretary a smirk that won over many girls' hearts. He laughed inwardly to himself as he observed her gasp quietly at his smirk, and with a final "Bien sûr, mon amour" he left the office without a second glance, walking with his elegant posture that screamed of royalty.

He made his way through the French Ministry of Magic, giving a curt nod to practically every wizard and witch that passed him by, including the French Minister of Magic himself. Over the years in the Ministry, Draco had earned the respect of all wizards within the building by demonstrating his intelligence through his work and won over the hearts of almost all the witches with his penetrating grey eyes and aloof personality that women classified him as an "enigma" and were desperate to figure him out. He had by all means taken advantage of the horde of witches who had clung to him, yet he never saw a witch more than just one night for even though they may satisfy him physically, none of the women that he met could keep up with his sharp wit and level of conversation.

Malfoy exited the French Ministry and walked to the nearest Apparition point. With one subtle, sweeping glance he made sure no Muggles were watching before gracefully turning and Disapparating with a soft _pop!_ When the feeling of being squeezed through a tunnel passed by and he felt his feet touch the marble floor of the foyer, he performed a nonverbal spell that would alert his mother of his arrival at the Manor. He felt the magic of the house wash over him as it recognized that the master of the building was in its depths.

The foyer alone was the size of a regular house. It was circular shaped and on the walls hung a large mirror and paintings of his ancestors. Around the room were doors that gave access to three ballrooms, two indoor pools, and five kitchens straight from the foyer for convenience. Straight ahead was a long hallway that leads into the heart of the Manor. He tapped his foot impatiently as he waited. Suddenly there was a soft '_pop!_' and a house elf donning a green and silver uniform with the Malfoy family crest appeared in front of him.

"Master Malfoy, may I take your cloak? The Mistress will be with you shortly, she is making her way here from the sunroom. Is there anything Master Malfoy requires?" the elf squeaked, his lime green eyes wide in anticipation.

"No, thank you Spiero. This will be a short visit- I just need to speak to my mother and I'll be heading out again," Draco replied civilly. The house elf bowed so low that his nose nearly touched the marble floor. "Master Malfoy has always been so kind to Spiero. Thank you, Master Malfoy, and I hope to see you soon," Spiero said. Then he apparated away to another part of the house with a '_pop!_' Draco allowed himself a small smile that faded away instantly as he heard his mother's footsteps.

"Draco?" she called out. She finally arrived in the foyer and stopped when she was right in front of her son. "Draco," she breathed quietly.

"Hello, mother," he said stiffly. He endured her hug and let him put her arms around him, but did not wrap his arms around her.

"Draco, bear with me. I was aching to do this freely but you know… with your father. Stressing the importance of self-dependence and all those Death Eater virtues," she said firmly, giving him a good look.

He looked at his mother. Narcissa Malfoy's blonde hair that was a few shades darker than his own was piled gently on top of her head in an elegant bun. She wore robes made of the finest silk in all of England and green shoes that were soft and refined at the same time. Her eyes, blue, unlike his own, showed a trace of softness that she always had to hide previous to the end of the War, for if she let that side of her show, the Dark Lord would not have passed it by without noticing it. Before his initial destruction, he did not allow his Death Eaters and their families to feel compassion. Now that the war was over, Narcissa slowly allowed her true self to show.

Draco held his arm out, offering it to his mother to guide her into the Blue Drawing Room in the Manor, ever the gentleman. She took his arm and they walked silently to the Drawing Room, where tea was set up by the house elves with two crystal cups. He waited for his mother to sit down in an azure velvet chair before calmly sitting in his own. She reached over and poured tea for both of them, and spoke after carefully taking a sip from her cup, "So, Draco. There must be a reason you are here- you just checked up on me two weeks ago, and I don't presume that you are here solely to see me."

He broke out a small smirk, amused at his mother's Malfoy-ish bluntness. "Mother, I'm going to be moving back to England. I've been asked to work in the Ministry here- one of the Head Aurors is retiring and he's a colleague of mine. He asked me to take over his position and I've agreed- I think I've been doing solo work for far too long."

Narcissa Malfoy sipped her tea slowly, her posture never faltering as she listened to his words. "Have you found a flat yet? Can't you simply keep your flat in France? You can Apparate or Floo to the Ministry." she finally spoke.

"It's going to be more convenient to just be near work, so I sold the flat in France and I'm looking for a flat here right now. I have work tomorrow so anything will suffice until I find a place that I like," he replied stoically.

"Well, then why don't you stay here, Draco? I know you don't want to live with your mother, god forbid, but you _are_ the master of the Manor and this _is_ your home. I've taken over the East wing and if you don't want to see me, you can claim the West wing. All this business looking for a place is a waste of time when you have a place right here, not to mention a waste of gold," she stated in response.

"Mother, I've got fifteen Gringott's vaults full of gold," he smirked.

"Yes, well it never hurt to save anything," she said, undaunted by his coldness, "I insist. Move your things in right away and I'll get the house elves to ready your old bedroom in the West wing."

He saw a glint in his mother's eye and knew that she would not be deterred. Draco smirked slightly again at his mother and gave in. "I Vanished the boxes so I just have to cast the Appear spell. I'll be going to my room now, I need a long, hot bath before I have to put up with Granger's crap tomorrow."

"Granger? As in, Hermione Granger? Is she your new partner, Draco?" his mother implored curiously.

Sighing, he responded, "Yes. My colleague was supposed to be her new partner, but he decided to retire early and tend to family affairs. I did him a favor and accepted the job."

"My, my, Draco, I must admit you are going soft. Doing favors? I must admit you've come a long way from the olden days," she jibed gently, laughing when his eyes flashed dangerously at her accusation. "Don't you hate the Granger girl?"

"She infuriates me to no end, she's an insufferable know-it-all. But it's a good position, and there was no way that I'd let a silly Gryffindor golden girl make me turn down that opportunity," he scorned. With that, he arose from his chair and made his way over to the stairs in the hall right outside of the drawing room. As he climbed up the stairs, his mother called up, "Oh and Draco, this time please do try to stick to one decent girl instead of those tramps you usually switch off like flies, I'm sick of those French tabloids talking about you week after week." She laughed to herself, imagining her son's face when he heard her and headed back towards the sunroom to tend to her plants. Scowling, Draco continued to make his way up the stairs, muttering about his mother's gossipy personality.

During his time in France, he had become a celebrity by dating numerous French witches who were celebrities and breaking their hearts. At first he was just known as the "boyfriend of", but over time the press began to pay him more attention than the witches he dated, resulting in Draco Malfoy being one of the most famous people in Wizarding France. He frowned to himself as he shook his head, thinking that he should've known his mother would be keeping tabs on him and his 'love life', for she was always dissatisfied with the knowledge that he gave her which was virtually none.

Finally reaching the top of the stairs, Draco glided down the hallway and into his room, where with a swish of his wand he made his things appear that he packed from his flat and with another swish the contents that he had made appear settled themselves into various parts of his room. He made his way into the middle of the room, where a large mahogany four-poster bed lay. Lying down on top of the emerald green, soft sheets, he closed his eyes and felt a momentary sense of freedom. He was free from the clingy French girls who didn't know anything besides the type of lipstick they wore and from the press that loved dogging him around so.

Draco felt a sense of peace before it daunted him that tomorrow morning he will be seeing Granger, the Gryffindor golden girl, the brains of the silver triangle, or whatever they were calling the bothersome Gryffindors these days. He groaned as he thought of her incessant buzzing about something no one really cared about and her frizzy mass of brown hair that seemed to get tangled in everything. He began to regret his decision, but there was no going back now. Staring around the room with his hands locked behind his neck, he wondered to himself what tomorrow will be like. Surely it will not be civil- he expected a fight, _that_ he was certain of. But would it be awkward at first? Or would it be just like old times, back to the spitting dislike?

He smirked to himself as he decided that he'd make the best of this job opportunity and make Granger as mad as he possibly could every day. It amused him to no end when she got all angry and blew up at him. Yes, that's what he would do. He closed his eyes, his bath long forgotten, and drifted off to a deep sleep.


	6. Unexpected Needs

A stream of sunlight poured into Hermione's room through the cracks in her hangings. Groaning as she rubbed her eyes sleepily, she wondered to herself why her heart was so heavy and had a sense of foreboding. Her eyes snapped open immediately as she remembered exactly _why_ she felt such a weight on her heart- today she was going to be seeing her nemesis, her enemy from her days at Hogwarts who never ceased to remind her of her "blood status". Hermione grimaced as she also remembered that not only was she to be _seeing _him today, she was going to have to see him every day for the rest of her career. Letting out a small moan she pushed her hair back from her face and let herself have a little tantrum before retreating to the bathroom to get herself ready for the coming day.

Hermione let all thoughts fade away while she went through her daily routine in the bathroom. Splashing cold water on her face, she tried to convince herself that today would be just another work day- that it wouldn't be so bad. She'd minimize interacting with Malfoy and only speak to him when it was absolutely necessary or she needed an update on the case that they'd be working on from him. Wiping away the water with a towel, she sighed for the tenth time that morning promising herself that she would not let Malfoy antagonize her like he had during Hogwarts. They were both adults and surely they'd be able to act in a professional manner. With that in mind, she made her way back into her bedroom to change.

Walking into her closet, she made her way to the section of her wardrobe where her work clothes hung. Her walk-in closet was the size of an average bedroom in a regular house, yet Hermione found no use for it. The only part of her closet that was actually taken up by clothes ended after ten short steps into it. She had six robes for work, eight modest dresses also for work, and a few garments of Muggle clothing for relaxing at home hanging on a rack and the rest of the closet was taken up by books neatly stacked next to each other in alphabetical order in a precision only Hermione could master. Underneath her clothes were three pairs of shoes- two pairs of simple black heels and a pair of sneakers. Pulling a random robe and dress off the rack, she considered dressing a bit fancier that day to show Malfoy that she would not be daunted by him. After a moment of consideration, she shook her head and thought to herself, '_Relax, Hermione. This is just Malfoy. You don't need to dress well for him to boost your confidence, it just goes against your motto of 'women don't have to dress up to succeed'._'

She made her way out of the closet and pulled on the dress that she had arbitrarily picked out. It was a light blue dress with modest straps that hugged her upper body and gently fanned out at her waist, ending just above her knee. Pulling on her Auror robes and black heels, she stood in front of her vanity and applied Rectus potion to her hair, making it fall gently in waves around her shoulders. Looking at herself in the mirror, she thought, '_Average as usual_' with a smile and trotted downstairs.

As soon as her feet touched the first floor, she was surrounded by the creamy smell of risotto. Sniffing and closing her eyes in appreciation, she heard Ginny's footsteps walk over to where she stood, at the bottom of the stairs. Opening her eyes, she saw her best friend in a loose yellow blouse tucked into dark blue skinny jeans looking at her with concern. Smiling at her flat mate Hermione said, "Good morning!" and went over to embrace her. Ginny smiled back and returned the hug, squeezing Hermione gently before letting her go.

"Are you going to be okay, Hermione? I know Malfoy is far from your favorite person in the world, but you're amazing at what you do, so I'm sure you'll have no problems. If it comes down to it and he starts calling you things, I'll teach you my Bat Bogey Hex and we'll have a good time," Ginny said soothingly. Laughing at the redhead's suggestion to hex Malfoy if he presented a problem, Hermione put her hand at Ginny's elbow and lead them both to the glass table where a steaming risotto awaited them for breakfast.

"I'll be fine, Ginny," she said with an uncertain laugh, "We're both grown up now, I'm sure we'll be able to conduct ourselves in a professional manner. Even Malfoy, the slimy git he is, surely had to grow up. I'll just only speak to him strictly about work and that's it. I'll be fine." She sat down as she listened to her own words, trying to reassure herself. Ginny gave her a confident smile as she also sat down at the table and began serving breakfast.

"Thought you needed a little pick-me-up this morning, so I prepared risotto. You'll be needing far more than just toast and eggs if you're going to deal with _him_ all day!" Ginny explained. Hermione felt a wave of gratitude wash over her as she listened to her best friend. She felt so lucky to be so loved and cared about, which gave her new confidence. It didn't matter if Malfoy hadn't changed, his opinion of her didn't matter. As long as she was accepted and loved by her friends and family, his opinion held no importance in her mind.

Ginny and Hermione chattered away happily during breakfast, with Hermione crying out her appreciation for Ginny's cooking multiple times during the meal.

"Ginny Weasley, for a girl who grew up with six brothers and plays for the Holyhead Harpies Quidditch team, you _astound_ me with your cooking ability!" Hermione exclaimed as she took another appreciative bite of her breakfast. Grinning at Hermione, Ginny replied, "Well, I _am_ related to Molly Weasley. Her intense love of cooking _had_ to go somewhere, right? Better me than Ron, I reckon."

Hermione laughed out loud at the thought of Ron in an apron, hovering over a stove. The boy sure loved to eat, but the two girls have never seen him in a kitchen longer than he needed to grab something to fill his appetite. "Yeah, I guess you're right!" she responded to Ginny as she finished up the last bite of her meal. She pushed herself from the table and grabbed her plate, placing it in the sink and quickly flicked her wand, making the sponge wash the plate by itself. Ginny shook her head at the brunette and clucked jokingly, "Hermione Granger, I'm going to have to hex you. Don't bother, you have work to do!"

Hermione beamed at Ginny and retorted, "So do you! Just because Quidditch season hasn't begun yet and your training hasn't started doesn't mean you have to do everything around here! Have some fun, Gin! Go out and shop and sightsee. As much as I love your cooking, we can go out to dinner too, you know. Apparition is a beautiful, beautiful thing."

Ginny rolled her eyes affectionately at her before replying, "I'm bored by myself with you lot working at the Ministry. I don't want to sightsee by myself! I'd much rather be here and wait for you to get back so that you can entertain me. Speaking of shopping, by the way, you need more clothes! I walked in there yesterday and it looked like- what do Muggles say? Oh! The Samara Desert!"

"_Sahara_ desert," Hermione corrected lovingly. "Ginny Weasley, you went through my closet?" Hermione mocked outrage for a moment before a smile snaked its way on her lips, placing her hands on her waist defiantly.

Ginny gave her a smug smile and countered, "Well, I had nothing to go with my gold dress that I got two weeks ago! My closet is so full that I have piles of clothes on the floor, while you have _books_ and _tons of space_ in your closet!" She shook her head in mock disappointment. "We're going shopping tonight, whether you like it or not. I'm dying to go, except if I buy any more stuff I'll have to claim another room for my clothes, so this is my perfect excuse! We're filling up that wardrobe, missy!"

Hermione protested, yet she saw the look of determination in Ginny's eye and knew that she would not be deterred. Hermione complained before making her way to the fireplace under the television, "Ginevra Weasley, you are the most tomboyish girly person that I know! Urgh!"

Ginny gave her a coy smile, fluttered her eyelashes, and then laughed. She sang, "Have a nice day at work! _Don't let Malfoy get to you_!" Hermione giggled and threw the green Floo powder at her feet, stating firmly, "Ministry of Magic, England!"

After a brief flash of green, Hermione felt herself arrive in the Ministry. Looking out from the fireplace where she had landed, she briefly sighed to herself before stepping out quickly in order to make sure no one landed on top of her while Flooing to the Ministry. Unlike the previous day, she didn't stop to look at her surroundings and made her way straight to the elevators, eager to get the awkwardness over with. She willed herself not to think about Malfoy before she absolutely _had_ to, and stepped out when the pleasant voice called out "Level 9- Department of Magical Enforcement". Her footsteps echoed in the hallway as she walked towards the Auror office. She paused momentarily before opening the door and closed her eyes, muttering to herself words of encouragement.

Hermione erected herself into a confident stance and calmly opened the door, expecting to see Draco Malfoy in front of Tracy's desk, waiting to be shown to his office. Instead, she just found an empty office except for Tracy sorting a pile of papers. At the sound of Hermione walking into the office, Tracy looked up and stuttered, "Auror Granger! G-go-good morning!"

"Good morning, Tracy," Hermione greeted with a friendly smile before making her way towards her office door. Her heart pounded in relief when she noticed that the door next to hers was still labeled "Davis- Head of Department". Realizing the immense wave of relief washing over her, she chided herself, keeping in mind that it was _just Malfoy_ and that he could not hurt her with his foul words. She made her way over to her desk and plopped down on her chair. She sank into it immediately, closing her eyes and willing the nervous butterflies in her stomach away. Thinking of Hogwarts and the bravery associated with her House, she pulled out her file that she'd worked on yesterday from her drawer, muttering an unlocking spell. Soon enough she got lost in the details of the case, her head swimming with facts and possibilities, with Draco Malfoy long forgotten.

..0.

Malfoy's eyes fluttered open at the sound of an owl pecking on the glass doors in his room that lead to a balcony that overlooked the acres of land belonging to the Malfoys. Grumbling '_bloody owl_' to himself, he rose slowly from the bed and went over to let the bird in. As soon as he opened the door, it stared haughtily at Malfoy as if to say _I have more important things to do than to wait for you to wake up_. Rolling his eyes at the bird, he detached the piece of parchment from its leg and read.

"_Auror Malfoy, will you be coming to work today? Your presence is not mandatory today for the Department understands that you have just moved back to England. Regardless, your office will be ready by noon. Thank you, Tracy McPherson._"

The owl looked at him expectantly, waiting for Malfoy to provide him with a reply to bring back to the Ministry. Fetching his wand from his mahogany bedside table, he conjured up a piece of parchment, ink, and quill, quickly jotting down, "_Yes, I will be in the office today. Expect me at noon. D.M._" Tying up the parchment to the bird with the string that came with the letter he had received, he yawned as he watched the owl give him a disapproving look and fly off into the distance. Shaking his head, he flicked his wand lazily, conjuring numbers in the air. It informed him that the time was eleven fifteen.

Groaning to himself, he realized that in forty-five minutes, he would have to go through the Auror binding ceremony with Granger. _Granger_ of all people. The buck toothed, frizzy haired, know-it-all. Shrugging his shoulders, he made his way into the grand bathroom in his room, turned on the warm shower water, and stepped in as soon as he dropped his clothes on the floor. Letting the steam soothe him, he sighed in content and began to think about everything he knew about the brunette witch.

In all the years that he'd known her, they'd never had a normal conversation. All he knew was that she was frustratingly stubborn, was always in the constant need to flaunt her intelligence, and the way she played martyr to Weasel and Pothead was disgustingly Gryffindor-ish. Ugh, just the thought of her wanted to make Draco hurl. He probably saw her hand waving around during class more than he saw the professor, due to her explosion of hair during the years at Hogwarts. He didn't know where he would get the patience to deal with her bossiness from today… and every day for the rest of his career as an Auror in England. Surely he'd be able to move back to the French Ministry of Magic if he got fed up with her antics. It wasn't easy to break off a binding to an Auror, but it wasn't _impossible_…

Draco scoffed as he thought to himself, _As if that insufferable know it all is going to make __**me**__ run. Oh no. If it comes down to it, __**she'll**__ be the one to be moving to another Department_. Grabbing a towel, he trekked back into his gargantuan room and cast a drying charm on himself and picking out crisp black Auror robes to wear with smooth leather shoes. He put on a light blue button down that brought out his stormy eyes and hugged his well-defined muscles then slung the robe over his shoulder, fastening it at his neck. Looking in the mirror and deeming himself as presentable, Draco made his way through the long hallway and into one of the many dining rooms of the Manor.

..0.

When Draco stepped inside of the dining room, he found his mother already awake, reading an issue of Witch Weekly with Hermione Granger on the front, laughing. Sensing his presence, Narcissa Malfoy peered up from her magazine and greeted warmly, "Good morning, Draco."

"Good morning, Mother," he replied, raising his eyebrows and indicating at the magazine.

"She's quite a fascinating creature- quite bright, I take it," his mother stated with a chuckle, "I think it is safe to assume that she is as every bit as stubborn as you are, if not more. Perhaps you'll finally find a person to match your intellects."

He scoffed at the idea of Granger being able to match him intellectually. Sure, she had been valedictorian of their year when everyone returned to Hogwarts after the war, but she'd beaten him for the spot with measly one hundredths of a point. Since then, she'd gone into Auror training and he'd traveled the world and landed himself a top job at the French Ministry. He was almost certain that he'd beat her in a battle of wits. Draco walked over and sat down across from his mother and waited for the house elves to bring him his breakfast. He stared intently at the cover of Witch Weekly, noticing that she'd quite changed since her time at Hogwarts. The basics of her looks were still the same- wide, inquisitive brown eyes, a small porcelain face, a delicate, pointed nose- but she was different. Far more… attractive than she'd been before. Draco snorted to himself and thought _if I hadn't known her or her personality, she'd actually be dating material. But then again, that's __**Granger**_.

Narcissa Malfoy smiled to herself as she found her son staring intently at the cover of the magazine that she was holding up. Perhaps someone would finally put her son in his place. She loved the boy dearly and still found the eleven-year-old boy itching to go to Hogwarts when she looked at the grown man that was her son, but she did have to admit that he had inherited Lucius's overbearing pride that kept him from doing things in life. Perhaps Hermione Granger was just what her son needed.

**Author's Note:** Already working on the next chapter. I'm considering not continuing… This has the least reviews out of all my stories so maybe it isn't that great :/ Thoughts? Should I start another Dramione and ditch this? Or continue? Please, read & review3 I love you all (:


	7. The Lioness and the Snake

Draco rose from his chair after elegantly wiping his mouth with the emerald napkin from his lap.

"I'm off to work now, Mother. If I'm late, Granger will give me hell for it for the rest of my life- especially because it's the first day," he stated.

"Good to know that she's improving you already," she chuckled from behind her magazine, "She's already improving your punctuality!"

Rolling his eyes he replied, "I'm _never_ late, Mother. I'm a _Malfoy_, after all."

"Yes, yes, you Malfoy men and your prides," she laughed, looking at her son lovingly.

Placing a peck on her cheek, he strode out of the room in his debonair gait and made his way to the fireplace in the hall. He stepped inside the marble fireplace and pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, already groaning at the harping he'd have to listen to all day from the idiotic Granger. Squaring his shoulders determinedly, he took a pinch of Floo powder and calmly stated "Ministry of Magic, England" before the green flames engulfed him.

..0.

As soon as he felt his feet touch the floor of the Ministry, Draco strolled out confidently into the building. To anyone watching, he seemed like he didn't have a care in the world and was very unaware of his surroundings, yet in reality the platinum blonde Auror was carefully measuring his surroundings with a quick sweep of his cool grey eyes, making note of everything in his mind from the short witch scratching her nose to the tall, brooding wizard stepping out of one of the fireplaces looking annoyed.

Once Draco reached the elevator, he stepped inside amongst other Ministry workers and observed with amusement the widening of eyes from the people surrounding him. He heard whispers of _Draco Malfoy? __**The**__ Draco Malfoy? He's back in London?_ He smirked as he heard a few witches whisper _Oh Merlin, he's even better looking than they say he is!_ The bickering continued and the Ministry workers in the lift continued to whisper about him as if he couldn't hear them. Finally, the cool voice called out "_Level Nine, Department of Magical Enforcement_" and all the whispering stopped as Draco stepped out of the lift to make his way over to the Auror department, only to ensue again when the doors closed.

Rolling his eyes, he walked confidently towards the door at the end of the hall leading into the Auror department. People were the same wherever he went- always kissing his feet because he's a Malfoy and the women standing there with their mouths hung open like they were _stupefy_-ed like that. Of course it did wonders for his pride, yet he got tired of it. If he wasn't a Malfoy he'd been getting respect for the work he's done to revolutionize the Auror departments in ministries all over the world, yet all his hard work would go unnoticed because of the burden that comes with his family name- because of the fact that his cruel father made sure that the mere mention of the name "Malfoy" would make people cower in their shoes. He sighed as he neared the door at the end of the hall, and shook his head to clear his thoughts. This wasn't the time to throw a pity party for himself- he had to go in there and deal with Granger and get the day over with as soon as possible. He reached out his hand and pulled open the door that revealed the Auror department.

..0.

Heading inside, he was surprised to see that there were no cubicles for the lower ranked Aurors and research interns like there had been in France. Instead, he found himself looking at a relatively spacious area with a lone desk for the secretary and a line of doors on every wall. By habit, he observed every detail of the room- in the four years that he'd been an Auror, Draco Malfoy had learned that he must always be alert of his surroundings and be able to have more than one escape route. His quick gaze landed on what seemed to be his door- the golden plaque read '_Malfoy- Head of Department_'. He smirked to himself as a wave of pride ran over him. He'd made it to the position of Head of Department in both England and France with his own efforts. For the first time in his life, he'd achieved something without his father making excuses for him and bribing everyone he possibly could to get his son to succeed. His smirk, however, was quickly wiped off his face as he read the plaque on the door next to his- '_Granger- Head of Department_'. He quietly groaned to himself. Not only would he have to be _partners_ with the infuriating witch, he'd have to have his _office_ near her and probably see her every morning when he came into work. _Great._

At the sound of his groan, Tracy quickly came out from under her desk, emitting a sharp squeak when she banged her head on the edge of the table in her haste, and then emitting another squeak when she saw Draco Malfoy standing a few feet from her desk, raising one perfect eyebrow and looking at her quizzically.

"Au-Au-Auror Ma-Mal-Malfoy! I'm s-so sorry, I didn't see you th-there! I was looking for p-papers for Au-Auror Granger," she stammered nervously.

"Ah, I take it that she's in her office, then?" he inquired calmly.

"Y-yes, she's been expecting you since morning," the jumpy secretary answered.

"Well then, can't keep a lady waiting, can we?" he said in an insinuating drawl.

"N-no, Auror Malfoy… I'll notify her of your p-presence right away," she gulped.

"No, there's no need. I'm sure she'll be thrilled to see me unannounced," he claimed with a quick wink. He turned on his heels, leaving behind a very flustered Tracy and marched confidently towards the door marked '_Granger- Head of Department_'. He chuckled to himself, _A lady, indeed! Ha! If you could call a frumpy, frizzy haired, buck toothed witch a lady. _Draco reached the door and turned the knob, preparing himself mentally to deal with Hermione Granger.

..0.

Hermione frowned in her seat, staring down at the parchment before her. She held her quill in hand and her fingers were stained with ink due to the fact that she'd squeezed her quill in frustration many times that morning. Her eyebrows furrowed in concentration and she vaguely heard the door open. Assuming it was probably Harry, she mumbled, "one minute" and continued to stare at the paper. It didn't make sense- the killer had been meticulous in his or her murders. They left behind no traces, and she couldn't figure out what the coat of arms that the killer engraved in the victims had meant. Sighing in frustration, she threw her quill down and pushed the hair off her face. Realizing that she'd left Harry to wait, she quickly looked up saying, "Sorry Harr-" when she saw that her visitor had not been whom she'd anticipated.

He was leaning against her wall nonchalantly, his arms crossed and wearing the infamous Malfoy smirk. His eyes were cool and guarded- the intriguing color was striking even from half way across her vast office. His hair was just as she remembered it from Hogwarts, the platinum blonde that only a few could pull off, one of the people being Draco Malfoy. His face screamed of aristocracy- he had a strong jaw that wizards would die for and his nose was perfect, sloping gently down his face and creating the flawless profile. She noticed that the action of crossing his arms made his well defined muscles very noticeable against his shirt and Merlin, he'd filled out quite nicely since she'd last seen him. His shirt hugged his toned stomach and she realized that if this was anyone else but Malfoy she'd be quite attracted to him.

He kept quite still when she swept her eyes over him, and did not notice when Hermione blushed because she realized she stared at him for a moment too long, for he had been doing the same thing. Her hair wasn't as wild as it was in school- in fact, it fell past her shoulders in delicate curls. She was wearing an extremely modest, light blue dress, yet it still made Draco realize how much the Hogwarts robes had concealed. From what he could see, she had a delicate form and an amazing figure. Her neck was long and she held herself elegantly, never slouching in her chair even when lost in concentration. Her dark eyelashes framed her deep brown eyes that seemed to have no end. He noticed that a blush crept into her cheeks when he caught her observing him, and it only deepened when his smirk got wider. He continued to stare at her until she fidgeted in her seat, and he inwardly did a victory dance, for his mission had been completed- he managed to make her feel uncomfortable.

Breaking the silence, he smirked, "See something you like, Granger? I must say I'm not surprised. You _are_ of the female specimen after all, no matter how much you don't resemble one. I see you're still wearing clothes that even my grandmother would not wear?"

He noticed the familiar fire burning behind her deep eyes as anger filled Hermione. '_Who does he think he is!_' she thought to herself, '_Oh, what a stupid question. The prat thinks he's all that just because he's a sodding Malfoy, what else?_' After he opened his mouth, he'd erased all of Hermione's fleeting thoughts about him being attractive. Had she gone crazy? This was _Draco Malfoy_, the biggest git on the planet.

"I see you're still an irksome ferret, Malfoy, and as _charming_ as _ever_," she replied sarcastically, "I may not be Miss Universe but at least I won't be a bothersome _git_ my whole life."

"Never said anything about your appearance, Granger, but I suppose you can add _drab, boring, dull_ to the list of adjectives to describe you as well. Great addition, actually. I commend you. But then again, you're dating the _Weasel_, and anything of his isn't anything of importance so I daresay you're not any different," he drawled, still leaning against her wall as if he owned the place.

She rolled her eyes and retorted, "I couldn't care less about your _list of adjectives_ for me, Malfoy. Sorry to disappoint you if I was supposed to go crying into a corner because some bigheaded imbecile told me that I wasn't attractive. And Ron is a billion times better than the bimbos _you_ use and discard like a plastic bag who don't have two brain cells in them to rub together. And for your information, Ron and I are _not_ dating."

He raised an eyebrow, "Is this your way of telling me that you're available, Granger? Because if you are-"

"_Don't _be such an arrogant prat, I would _never_, and unlike your previous _victims_ that you slobber over, grunt, and slam into a few times before discarding, I have the ability to think for myself and see what an _idiotic ferret_ you are, so don't worry, I will _never_ need to tell you that I'm available," she snapped.

"My, my, Granger. Aren't we feisty today. I suppose even the Weasel had enough sense to see what an insufferable know-it-all you are," he drawled amusedly, making his way over to her coffee table and sitting down in one of the seats and stretching his legs out.

She rolled her eyes again and replied, "Actually, Ron and I mutually decided that it was better off staying friends. It was too much like dating a brother, and we're not fans of incest, you see. Unlike you hardcore purebloods, who interbreed so much to maintain your stupid "blood statuses" that it's almost certain that you're all related, we like to keep romantic matters away from the family."

He was taken aback by her words. Ever since he left Hogwarts and gotten away from Granger, he hadn't had anyone to match him in a verbal spat and therefore was not used to witty retorts. The women he had 'dated' were brainless bimbos who went along with anything he said and he enjoyed himself a bit as he bit back, "Yes well you see Granger, we tend to have standards that are way high above your head- much higher than you can fathom."

She snorted, "If those _high standards_ as you call them involve _you_, Malfoy, I'm assuming they're not all that _high_. I wouldn't stoop as low as you, so no need to worry. I won't go near you and your Pureblood atrocities."

He began to retort back when both their heads snapped towards the door that had creaked open. Harry Potter stepped into the office and greeted hello to Hermione by kissing her cheek, and then noticed Malfoy. Hermione braced herself for the worst, for whenever Malfoy and Harry were near each other it never ended well. Gripping her wand tightly just in case there was a need for a Shield charm, she doubled over in surprise when Harry walked over to Malfoy, extending his hand, and even more so when Malfoy stood up and gripped Harry's hand and pumping it in greeting.

"Did I _miss_ something here? Are you two being _civil_ to each other?" she inquired in surprise.

Harry laughed loudly and a smirk made its way across Draco's face.

"Yes, Granger. You see, Potter and I are adults now and conduct ourselves as such, unlike you," he stated.

"What! You started this bit with your snarky retort about my outfit!" she cried indignantly.

"I was merely stating what I observed, like a quality Auror," he replied innocently.

Harry rolled his green eyes at the both of them. "I don't understand how the Ministry expects you both to save each other's skins, but better you than me, 'Mione," he chuckled.

"Thanks, Harry. Nice to know I'm loved," she stated sarcastically.

Malfoy rolled his eyes at the both of them. Bloody Gryffindors. Always so buddy-buddy with each other. He shuddered at the thought of being so homey with even Blaise, his best mate.

"All right then, guys. We have to do the bonding ceremony," Harry said.

Hermione sighed and reluctantly got up from her chair and made her way over to where the two wizards were standing. She glared briefly at Malfoy, who rolled his eyes in response, and then asked Harry, "So, what do we need to do?"

"Er. Malfoy needs to put his arm out facing upwards and you need to place your arm over his and you both need to hold each other's arms. Kind of like making an Unbreakable Vow," Harry responded.

Draco gagged at the thought of touching her, and Granger rolled her eyes impatiently. "Oh grow up Malfoy, we're going to be sodding _partners_ now, so you better get used to seeing me around," she snapped, "I don't like this any more than you do."

"You have _no_ idea how much it's taking me to be _your_ Auror partner. At least you're being bonded to a handsome-"

"Shut up and stick your bloody arm out!" she snarled, glaring up at him.

He struck her a glare that had most people chilled to the bone and cowering in their shoes and stuck his arm out. She placed her delicate arm on top of his and wrapped her hand around his arm, unaffected by his glare. Harry sighed as he made his way between the two and raised his wand and said quietly, "_Promissio alica_". A stream of royal blue light shot out of his phoenix wand and wrapped around the entwined arms of Hermione and Draco like a string. The part touching Hermione turned to a beautiful scarlet and the part touching Draco turned a brilliant emerald, the two colors adjoining in the middle.

"_I, Draco Abraxas Malfoy, take my duty as an Auror and understand the responsibility to protect and stand by my partner, Hermione Jean Granger in all situations and costs._"

"_I, Hermione Jean Granger, take my duty as an Auror and understand the responsibility to protect and stand by my partner, Draco Abraxas Malfoy in all situations and costs._"

The stream of scarlet and emerald light that entwined their arms rapidly swirled around the room, lighting up Hermione's office in emerald and scarlet light before quickly disappearing into their entwined arms. Hermione, Harry, and Draco stood there in silence as the magnitude of what they've witnessed and done sunk into them.

Finally, Harry broke the silence by stating, "When Ron and I did the bonding ceremony, it never lit up the room like that. It was just a small red light tying around our arms and that was it."

"It's probably because the spell recognizes that we pretty much hate each other. That was probably a way to remind us both that we need to set aside our differences in our field of work," Hermione declared knowingly.

"Honestly, Granger, are you ever _not_ a know-it-all?" Draco asked.

Scowling, she shot him a glare before saying, "I was merely supplying an answer to Harry's speculations."

Before he could reply, Harry said, "Malfoy, play nice. You both are adults. Although, if he _does_ bother you, Hermione, feel free to hex him. I'll pretend like I didn't see anything."

Draco rolled his eyes. "How Slytherin of you, Potter. Your inner Voldemort is showing."

Harry raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You're saying his name now?"

The blond wizard snorted, "I've been saying his name ever since the snatchers lifted the bloody taboo and the Death Eater riots died down. You have no idea how much I wish I can bring the slimy git back to life so I can scream in his face that he's a half-blood hypocrite."

Hermione stood back observing amusedly at their exchange before something dawned on her. She gave a little gasp and the two wizards wheeled around to face her.

"Hermione?" Harry queried worriedly. Malfoy looked at her quizzically- it seemed as if some very important piece of information dawned on her. When she stayed silent, mumbling to herself, he grew impatient and was about to shout at the infuriating witch to spill the beans, when Harry stopped him.

"Leave her be, I think she's having an epiphany," he whispered.

Draco rolled his eyes in response and contented himself with insulting bloody Gryffindors and their dramatic antics. He leaned against the coffee table and watched silently as the brunette witch made her way quickly from bookshelf to bookshelf, scanning the titles until she gave another little gasp and hurriedly pulled out a thin book from the third bookshelf. She hastily opened it up and flipped through the pages in frenzy, giving a small scream of triumph when she seemed to have found what she wanted.

Ignoring Harry's attempts to stop him from shouting out, he exclaimed, "For Merlin's sake, Granger, what the _bloody _hell are you doing!"

Snapping her head up in surprise as if she just noticed that Harry and Draco were in the room, her eyes widened and she said, "Oh, sorry, I just got carried away…"

"Granger," he snapped.

"What?" Hermione responded hazily. He could practically hear the wheels turning in her head, making connection after connection.

"You're doing it again," he said, sighing in frustration. The bloody witch needed to snap out of it. He hated it when people knew something he didn't, for usually it was the other way around- people begged _him_ for information and he never begged for _anything_.

"Oh. Okay. So when you said Voldemort was a half-blood that made me think of his mother's maiden name, Gaunt. And since one of the only things that I seemed to deduce from the files were that these murders are most likely by former Death Eaters or a Pureblood idealist, I had to look up the coat of arms for the family of Gaunt. The reason I never saw the Gaunt coat of arms was because I read "The Wizarding Coat of Arms and Lineage" for current witches and wizards. And as we all know, Voldemort's mom's maiden name died out long ago, ending when Merope died giving birth to Voldemort. So I got out _this_ book of Wizarding Genealogy- this one dates back to the 1600's," she explained hurriedly.

Harry chuckled, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose and then giving Hermione a brotherly hug. "Hermione, always the genius, you," he said lovingly.

She beamed at him and returned his hug, ushering him out of her office. "I should fill Malfoy here about our case, so go back to Ron, I don't want to keep you from your work any longer."

With a smile, Harry left the office and shut the door, leaving Hermione and Draco alone. When she turned around to face Malfoy, he was sitting with perfect posture in his chair with his fingers tapping on the coffee table. His eyes were far away, as if he was deep in thought about the information that had just been revealed to him. His head snapped up unexpectedly, and Hermione jumped a bit before sitting opposite him at the coffee table. He looked at her and commanded, "Send over a copy of the case file to my office."

Her eyes widened and her gentle face twisted into a scowl as she stated firmly, "I am _not_ your servant, Malfoy. I don't care about your interactions with any previous mindless bimbos that you've worked with, but I _won't_ be treated like some _maid_. I'm your _partner_, not your _secretary_."

He glowered at her and shouted, "You can't ever just _do_ something, can you? You just have to be so _bloody difficult_ all the time!"

"I'm not being bloody difficult, I'm telling you how much of a git you are and you're not getting any maid service from me just because you're _Draco_ sodding _MALFOY_," she spat.

He angrily pushed his chair back from the table and it tipped over as he got out and slammed his way over to her desk. Whipping his Hawthorn wand out, he quickly muttered a copying charm, took his papers, and stormed out of her office with a slam of her door that shook her office walls. Fuming, Hermione stayed in her chair for a bit, breathing heavily after their shouting match. She pushed her hair back out of her face and did a quick charm that placed her hair in a gentle bun. Getting up from the coffee table, she bent down and picked up the chair that Malfoy had discarded in his anger and made her way back to her desk. She placed her head in her hands and thought to herself, '_What have I gotten myself into? Merlin, we can't even be in the same room together for more than two minutes without one of us blowing a fuse. My life is dependent on Malfoy now on the battlefield and in missions. Oh dear Merlin._' With a soft sigh, she picked up her quill and made a note of her discovery, drowning in her thoughts once more and the spat with Malfoy quickly evaporated from her mind.

**Author's Note: **Sorry this is so late, guys! I don't know why, but I was so excited to write this scene, yet I just couldn't for some reason. I guess I had really high expectations for this scene, since this is their first time interacting in the story and everything. I hope this was a bit more than satisfactory for you all! I actually got really into the scene and I'm trying to keep the characters as canon as possible. Please, read and review! It makes me feel so loved (: and motivates me to write more. I'm going to try for updates at least once a week, if not twice. Love you all and thank you so much for reading!


	8. And So It Begins

**Author's Note: **I'm trying to sleep, but Draco and Hermione just won't shut up in my head! (: So here I am, at 1:53 in the morning writing another chapter. I think it's safe to say that I'm completely in love with Dramione (: I'm hungry, hmm… Anyone care to give me cookies? I'll love you forever (: I also don't mind reviews… me likey. (: _A huge thank-you to my lovely and amazing beta, __**Mischief. Managed. 1998**_ for her wondrous editing and words of encouragement!

..0.

Malfoy stormed out of Hermione's office with the papers in one hand, fuming. She was so stubborn- why did she have to make everything difficult? Was it _that_ big of a bloody deal that he hadn't said the one _stupid_ word, _please_? He scoffed as he made his way into his own office, barely noticing his surroundings for a change. Draco slammed the folder down on his desk and threw himself into his black leather seat. This was his first day with the Gryffindor golden girl and they'd already had a screaming match as if they were immature and hormonal Sixth Years. Hell, he hadn't had a spat like that since he graduated Hogwarts and gotten rid of that irritating witch. No one _dared_ to raise their voices to Draco Malfoy. Picking up the first thing he saw, which was his ink pot, he chucked it against the wall and felt satisfaction at the sound of the impact and of broken glass.

His anger somewhat subdued, he whipped out his wand from his sleeve and muttered a quick cleaning spell to remove the ink stains from his forest green carpet and a quick _Reparo_ to fix his ink pot that had been obliterated into pieces. The shards of glass lying on the floor jumped back together to re-form the pot, and Draco said '_Accio ink pot_' and watched it fly into waiting hand. He gently placed it back on his mahogany desk and let out a deep breath. He wouldn't let her get to him like this. No, he wouldn't let her have the satisfaction of angering him. With that decision, he opened his folder on the case they were working on and got busy catching himself up.

Unlike the previous murders and crimes that he'd seen previously in his career as an Auror, the series of homicides seem to have an erratic pattern- that is if it had a pattern at all. The witches and wizards had no age link and were of different races, so he was unable to categorize them. Frustrated, he flipped through the file and the profiles of the victims until he caught one word that popped out to him- '_Muggle_'. Furrowing his eyebrows, he picked up the piece of parchment with the word and saw that it was a profile of a victim. A Muggle named Victoria Gemirin, hit with the Killing Curse. None of the other victims were Muggles, and it struck him how strange the sudden change in the victims targeted was. He flipped through the papers before realizing that in his haste to get out of Granger's office, he hadn't copied the full profiles of the victims.

Draco brought up his hand to his face, and pinched the bridge of his nose in between his index finger and thumb, tilting his head back slightly and squeezing his eyes shut. He was less than thrilled at the idea of seeing Granger again- he'd gotten enough of her in the thirty minutes that he'd spent in her office for the whole day. Griping to himself, he pushed himself back from the desk and started to go towards the door leading out of his office and abruptly stopped in his tracks. Smirking to himself, he made his way to the right hand wall of his office and murmured a spell that caused the wall to shift and a tall oak door with a golden handle appeared on the wall. Pausing only for a moment to admire his wandwork, Malfoy stepped forward and turned the handle, opening the door to reveal Granger's office.

..0.

Hermione didn't notice that a door had formed on the left wall of her office, nor did she notice the tall, blonde wizard stride silently into her office and stand over her at her desk. She chewed her lip, deep in thought. No one in the Wizarding World knew about Voldemort's connection to the Gaunt family except his personal circle of former Death Eaters. '_But that doesn't make sense!_' she thought, '_All the former Death Eaters are either in Azkaban, dead, or have the Trace on them…'_

"…Except for Malfoy," she breathed to herself.

"What about me, Granger?" Malfoy snapped. Hermione snapped her head up, gave a surprised squeak, and reached for her wand on her desk only to find that it was not in its usual spot.

"Malfoy, _**where**_ _is my __**wand**_?" she hissed.

"Oh, this little piece of wood?" he replied nonchalantly.

She looked up to see the tall Auror standing a foot away from her desk, twirling her wand carelessly in between his fingers.

"_Malfoy, I swear if you don't give me my wand back this instant_," she screeched.

"Now, now, Granger, you're in no position to be making threats. I _could_ you know. Accidently _snap_," he gripped his hands tightly around her wand, "it- it'd be a tragic accident. Don't you think?"

"Malfoy, I will _hex_ you into the next week if you don't give me my wand back _right now_!" she snarled, her delicate hands forming into fists and fire igniting behind her eyes.

"How will you do that without a wand, Granger? Smartest witch of our age indeed, trying to hex a wizard without a wand. Greatest idea that you ever had. Really," he drawled, still twirling her wand.

Hermione's eyes narrowed, and she calculated the amount of time she would need to quickly race out of her seat, punch Malfoy, and retrieve her wand. Under her seat, she secretly removed her shoes so that they would not hinder her in her pursuit of her wand, and got ready to pounce when he placed her wand in front of her, summoned a chair in front of her desk, and sat himself down.

"That's it? You're not going to make me beg for it? Do something embarrassing?" she asked suspiciously.

Draco rolled his cool, grey eyes. "Granger, you tend to forget that we're _adults_, not some bratty Sixth Years."

"Could've fooled me," she muttered, "Why are you even _here_ in the first place? I thought I'd gotten rid of you this morning when you raced out of here screaming like a banshee."

Gritting his teeth and telling himself silently to control his temper, he replied, "I realized that I didn't make copies of the full profiles of the victims. In the file I noticed that one of the victims was a Muggle, which is strange to say the least, in this situation. Since we have no other leads whatsoever and that factor is the only thing that is strange in the pattern of murders, we should do a background check on the Muggle victim- see if she was related in any way to the Wizarding world."

Hermione settled in her seat and raised her eyebrows. She was surprised and it killed her to admit it, but his observation had impressed her. She had overlooked that factor and was solely concentrating on the possible motivations behind the murders. '_Looks like he isn't completely worthless,'_ she thought to herself.

"Granger, are you going to stare at me like that all day or are we going to look through the bloody profiles? You look like you've been petrified again and I swear if you keep holding your eyebrows up like that they're going to disappear into your hair, and that wouldn't be good because you're not that much of a looker in the first place," he scoffed impatiently. He had to convince himself that he wasn't lying about the last bit- it was _Granger_ after all. He wasn't used to her looking like an actual _woman_, that's all.

"I was just thinking to myself that you weren't _completely_ daft- but I take it back. Your git of a personality completely overpowers this possible lead that you found," she retorted haughtily, pushing her soft, brown locks out of her face. Hermione reached for the file on her desk with the victims' profiles and cast a simple Geminio charm and handed the extra copy to Malfoy. Reaching out to receive the file, Malfoy said amusedly, "See, Granger? That wasn't so hard. I didn't even have to tell you this time."

She clenched her teeth and shut her eyes, counting to ten slowly. This was only her first day working with the Slytherin git and Hermione did not fancy having another row in her office. She had half a mind to incinerate the papers in his hand, but decided against it when she looked and saw him concentrated on the files before him. Pulling open her own file, she studied the profiles of the victims in a new light. Victoria Gemirin was a Muggle married to a wizard named Theodore Greengrass. '_A __**Muggle**__ married to a __**Pureblood**__?_' she thought, '_That's not something you see every day…'_ Hermione gave a gasp as Draco's head snapped up from studying the papers and asked, "Granger, did you notice that all the victims had close relations in some way to Purebloods?"

..0.

Hermione stared at Draco, thinking. "How do you know if all the victims were Purebloods or not? It doesn't say anything about blood status in the profiles… Blood status information is only in the extended profiles which are locked away in the other corner of the Department," she asked.

Staring exasperatedly at her, he said impatiently, "Granger. I've been a member of the Pureblood society my whole entire life- for twenty-two years. Hell, if anything I'd know more about blood status than those extended profiles. You have _no_ idea how many idiotic balls and banquets I've been forced to attend, all of them having the same drab guest list of halfwit Pureblood elitists with their brainless wives."

Hermione stared at him for a moment before responding, "So if what you say is true-" he scoffed, snorting at the idea that he would be wrong. She ignored him and continued, "That means that we may have a potential motive…"

"Hunting Purebloods and putting the Gaunt coat of arms on them afterwards? That is a little ironic, don't you think, Granger?" he asked sarcastically, "There's got to be another motive. That makes no sense whatsoever. The murderer is clearly a fool who worshipped the half-blood hypocrite and is trying to trace his footsteps, as shown by the coat of arms…"

Hermione interrupted him by saying, "Malfoy, do you know Theodore Greengrass?"

He stared at her with his grey eyes trained on her, surprised. "I do know Greengrass- my mother tried to set me up with his dimwitted sisters, Astoria and Daphne," he replied. "Why?"

"Well, it says here that Victoria Gemirin was a Muggle," she responded.

Draco sat up in his seat, gaping at the brunette witch in shock.

"Victoria was a _Muggle_?" he choked out after he got over the news.

"Why, does that bother your stupid little Pureblood tradit-"

"Oh for Merlin's sake, Granger, I don't care about that shit anymore! I've went out with Muggle supermodels and I wouldn't be doing that if I still believed in the garbage that my bastard of a father shoved down my throat, would I?" he spat out, "Shut up and open your eyes. Don't you see, maybe the killer is going after Purebloods who have steady relations with Muggle-borns or Muggles! Merlin, for a witch they call the bloody smartest of our age… Smartest of our age my arse!"

Hermione gasped as Malfoy's words dawned in on her. They might possibly have a motive! She widened her eyes and the feeling of having to work came over her. She hurriedly scribbled a note to Tracy, cast a sending charm and watched as the note flew out of her office impatiently. She picked up the papers and scanned over them with the new realization in the back of her mind. The motive that she and Malfoy had come up with would make sense and she knew in the back of her mind that it was true- all she needed was a confirmation…

"Granger, give me a piece of parchment. We have to ask that halfwit secretary out there for the password spell for the full profiles," Draco commanded.

"Shut up Malfoy, what did I say about me being your maid?" Hermione snapped. Draco snarled in frustration, squeezing his eyes shut and willing himself not to get angry.

"Besides. I'm one step ahead of you, Malfoy. I already sent her a note and that over there should be the parchment with the password," she huffed.

He released a long breath, his elegant face contorted with annoyance. As the parchment from Tracy neared the desk, he snatched it out of the air, opened it, and tossed it aside.

"Malfoy! That was for me!" Hermione exclaimed.

"Whatever, Granger," he said with a raise of his wand. Pointing the Hawthorn wand at the file, he said '_Recludo fasciculi_'. Hermione shook her head and rolled her deep brown eyes in irritation, crossing her arms. As both the witch and wizard watched from their seats, the file doubled in size as more papers were added in. Draco reached over with a firm hand and split the pile in half, leaving one on Hermione's desk and taking the other half for himself.

"We'll split the pile and rendezvous to share our information after we're done reading," he said and raised himself from the chair and strode to the door.

Hermione nodded, her curls gently shifting as she did so, in annoyance. She was a bit irked that she was not the one in control, for she always was with Harry and Ron. Draco smirked at her discomfort and sneered, "Angry because you're not in charge, Granger? Tsk tsk, it doesn't do well to be a bossy know-it-all."

Her eyebrows furrowed together in anger and her usual warm, brown eyes became cold slits. "Get. Out. Of. My. Office," she hissed.

"Now, now, Granger. Calm yourself before your eyes start turning red and you become the next Voldemort," he said, amused at her anger.

She gave a shriek of frustration and fumed, "You weren't so keen on using the name when you were a little bitty Death Eater, were you now, _Malfoy_? You don't think that the Wizarding world knows that the only reason you're a sodding Auror is to save your sorry arse from Azkaban? You're just like your slimy father, doing whatever possible to save your ferrety self from trouble because you're a _coward_. I wouldn't bat an _eyelash_ if I found out that it was _you_ behind these murders!"

Hermione felt a twinge of remorse as she heard herself blurt out the words. She cringed and looked up at Malfoy's face to confirm her suspicions- she had crossed the line. His handsome face was contorted with anger and he looked absolutely livid, clutching his hand around his wand tightly. Draco made his way over to Hermione's desk, shaking with anger. For the first time that day, Hermione felt a twinge of fear as Malfoy placed his face inches away from hers, his icy greys piercing into her deep browns.

"_Never. Compare. Me. To. My. Father. Do you understand, Granger?_" he whispered in a deadly voice, "There are _so_ many things the bushy head of yours does not know about so don't you _dare_ call me a coward you filthy wench!" He gave her a freezing glare that chilled her to the bone. She sat defiantly in her seat, staring back at him with determination, only her trembling fingers giving away her twinge of agitation. She felt his cool breath on hitting her face as he breathed in and out in rage. He finally tore himself away from her desk and slammed the door shut as he left, leaving Hermione stunned in her chair, not even noticing that there was a door connecting her office with Malfoy's.

..0.

Hermione stared down at her desk and closed her eyes. She knew that she shouldn't have gone so far and needed to apologize, yet she was a little apprehensive to step into his office, remembering his livid face inches away from hers. She hadn't realized how much of a sensitive topic his father was to Malfoy. In her years at Hogwarts, she'd seen him angry, but never like this. She saw his eyes overcome with rage, a fire igniting his usually cool eyes and his cheeks flushed in a dark red. Hermione tried to justify what she said to Malfoy by reminding herself that he'd called her a 'mudblood' more times than she count, at first making her doubt if she was deserving of her magical abilities.

She shook her head and smoothed down the front of her light blue dress. Her Gryffindor morals that had been instilled in her since First Year would not let her ignore the growing urge to apologize to Malfoy. Hermione closed her eyes, vaguely feeling her long eyelashes touching the skin beneath her eyes. She breathed in deeply and rose from her chair, pacing across her office to the door when the golden knob on the wall caught her eye. She did a double take as she realized that Malfoy had transfigured a part of her wall to make a door connecting their offices. The brunette witch knew that she should be feeling anger at his audacity to transfigure her wall without her permission, yet her displeasure was subdued by the growing feeling of remorse.

As she approached the door to open it and step inside of Malfoy's office, she heard her own office door open. Harry tread inside her office and gave her a quick grin. Hermione felt a surge of affection for the boy that had become her brother ever since Halloween of their First Year. His black hair was as messy as always, and his lightning shaped scar peeked through his mass of hair. She stared into his emerald green eyes and smiled back, greeting, "Hi, Harry!"

"Hey, Hermione! I thought I heard shouting in here so I came to check in on you. Malfoy giving you a hard time?" he asked, running his hands through his hair.

"We had a fight this morning and another one just now- I don't think I've ever seen him that angry before… he was furious," she admitted.

"Merlin, what did you say?" Harry asked curiously, putting his hands in his pockets.

She shrank as she remembered the details of her rant, "I told him he became an Auror to save his sorry arse from Azkaban and that he was a coward… and compared him to his father…"

Harry flinched as he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Blimey, Hermione. Hit quite a number of sore spots for him in one shot," he stated.

"I know," she said. "I was just heading over to see him… wait, Harry, are you actually sticking up for Malfoy? I thought you'd have trouble accepting him as an Auror, and here you are defending him," she wondered amusedly.

Harry chuckled, "Well, I know a few things that will probably change your mind- although it isn't my story to tell. I'm sure he'll tell you in time."

Hermione raised her eyebrows, turning her soft chocolate eyes to her best friend. "What do you mean?" she asked, her interests piqued.

"Err…" he choked out, "Why is there a _door_ on your wall, 'Mione? I thought you said the both of you went at each other twice today and here you are with easier access to each other's offices…"

"Ugh, I know! I was too concentrated on the case to even notice that he transfigured my wall into a door. I mean the _nerve_ of him, really. If I wasn't feeling so guilty about what I said I probably would…" she ranted.

Harry grinned at his success on changing the topic. His smug grin did not go unnoticed by the sharp witch.

"Harry James Potter, you're hiding something from me, aren't you?" she queried as she placed her hands on her waist and narrowed her eyes.

He smiled sheepishly as he leaned down and gave his brown haired sister a hug. Hermione fought his embrace half-heartedly before wrapping her arms around him.

"You and your Gryffindor morals," she scoffed jokingly, "Who knew that one day Harry Potter would keep secrets for Draco Malfoy?"

"Might I remind you that you were a Gryffindor Prefect _and_ Head Girl, Miss Hermione Jean Granger?" he said teasingly. She let go of Harry and thumped him on the chest.

"Oomf, Hermione, you're a witch, you really shouldn't be resorting to such hands-on violence," he groaned.

"Would you rather I use my wand?" she offered playfully.

Harry widened his eyes in mock fear and trembled, "I'd rather face Voldemort again!"

Hermione laughed and relished the feeling of happiness as it swooped down on her. She'd been tense the whole day and laughing was a nice break from all the stress concerning her new Auror partner.

"Seriously, though, I swear- Gryffindor girls when they're mad… it's scarier than facing Voldemort! Merlin, when you or Ginny are angry…" Harry claimed, shaking his head, "It's like all the 'Gryffindor bravery' goes flying out the window and all us blokes want to do is run as fast as we can in the other direction!"

Hermione laughed again, looking at Harry's wide eyes in his little confession. Then she sighed, staring at the door and reminding herself what she had to do.

"I suppose I have to go in there now, don't I?" she asked to no one in particular.

"I would say you're going into the lion's den, but seeing as he's a Slytherin… you'll be going into the snake's nest," Harry laughed.

"Funny, Harry. Real witty," Hermione said sarcastically. She reached for the golden handle to turn it, only to realize that it was locked. She froze, her hand on the knob of the door.

"What's wrong, 'Mione?" Harry asked, puzzled.

"The _nerve_ of him!" she exclaimed, "That _ferret_ charmed it so that only _he_ can lock it or unlock it!" Beneath all her sudden anger, she begrudgingly admitted that she was impressed. A one-way locking charm was extremely difficult to do and only highly capable wizards and witches were able to achieve one successfully.

"You could just take the regular door," Harry offered.

"Harry Potter, if you think I'm letting Malfoy show me up, you don't know me at all," she retorted.

The black haired wizard laughed silently to himself. Of course, Hermione Granger would not let anyone top her in anything. She whipped out a wand from the pocket of her dress and muttered incantations under her breath. Streaks of purple, silver, and blue light came out of her wand when she abruptly stopped with a smug smile. She reached out a delicate hand and slowly turned the handle and smiled wider when she realized that her countercharms had worked. Harry shook his head tenderly as she disappeared into Malfoy's office, shutting the door behind her. He had a feeling that they would either be shagging each other senseless or blowing each other into smithereens in a few weeks. Shaking his head again, he smiled to himself as he strode out of her office, closing her door behind him.

**Author's Note**: How did you guys like this chapter? This story has so many hits and Alerts but not a lot of reviews… please, send some love? Or hate, or any opinions! Thank you so so much for reading, hearts to you all (: Again, a huge thank you to my beta, _**Mischief. Managed .1998 (had to add spaces because thought it was a URL)**_!


	9. An Epiphany

**A/N: SORRY IT'S SUCH A LATE UPDATE! I kind of fell out of love with the story because… well I have all these really intense scenes in my head for Hermione and Draco, yet we're still in the stage where they hate each other's guts and just tolerate each other, so I can't write the scenes in my head yet even though **_**they're all that I want to write**_**. I'm sorry that this is such an unquality chapter- my deepest, **_**deepest**_** apologies. I already have the next part started because that's where all the fun begins. I hope this filler chapter isn't **_**too **_**awful and I actually promise to update THIS WEEKEND. I love each and every one of you that reviewed, favorite, and story alerted. THANK YOU SO MUCH. Xoxo. (Oh, and this chapter is not beta'd because I figured I made you guys wait **_**way**_** too long for an update, so I hurried to put this one up.)**

**..0.**

Draco stormed into his office and deliberately kicked over a chair that was standing in his way to his desk. Feeling a wave of satisfaction as the chair toppled over helplessly, he angrily sat down in his chair and slammed his fists down on his desk. How _dare_ that intolerable, brute, fizzy haired _beaver_ compare him to his _father_? How dare she call him a coward? She knew nothing- she was just a bigheaded wench that deluded her idiotic self into knowing everything and took everything she assumed to be true. Day one, and she had already pushed his button and attacked the most sensitive parts of his life, the parts that kept him up at night. The parts that would never stop haunting him.

He fumed as he muttered to himself in fury. He was _nothing_ like Lucius Malfoy. Nothing. If only she knew what he had done in the war. Then she wouldn't have the _nerve_ to call him a coward and tell him that he became an Auror just to save his sorry arse from Azkaban. So trapped in his thoughts, he didn't notice that the one-way locking charm he had successfully activated had been broken and that the witch he had been thinking of strangling in his mind had stepped cautiously into his office that was just as spacious as hers.

Hermione silently crept into Malfoy's office, observing him as she stood a few feet away from his desk. His posture was still erect and proper in his distress- his shining blonde hair was slightly disheveled and he donned a look of fury, his eyes and thoughts apparently far away from where he was at the moment. A thought crossed Hermione's mind that he looked like a broken angel. Just for a moment, Draco Malfoy looked _human_, unlike his usual cold and aloof self. A sigh escaped her lips before she could help it and Malfoy's head snapped up at the sound, suddenly crashing into reality. He did not even hesitate before shooting her a freezing glare that made her want to turn around and step back into her office.

Hermione took a silent breath and willed herself to think of the Gryffindor bravery that she was so famous for. Straightening up, she looked him determinedly in the eye, silently telling him that she wasn't to be daunted by his furious attitude.

"_What_ do you want, you insufferable know-it-all? Here to accuse me of another murder? Get out of my office," he hissed menacingly.

Hermione did not waver as she crossed her arms and fixed her eyes determinedly onto his.

"I'm here to apologize."

When he said nothing but continued to glare at her, she went on, "I was out of line. You were merely trying to annoy me and I was completely unprofessional, stepping on boundaries I should have left alone and crossing lines where they should not be crossed. I apologize, and I came to make a peace offering."

Draco listened to her speech silently. Her words sounded sincere and honest, and he couldn't remember the last time someone was genuinely apologizing to him because of their actions- all he could remember was people begging and cowering at his feet for forgiveness because he was a Malfoy. Hermione gave him some time for her words to sink in, and watched as the raging fire behind his eyes calmed a little and his fists unclenched. Then, much to her surprise, a slight hint of amusement crossed his face.

"What?" she queried, unable to stop her curiosity.

"How did you manage to dispel my one-way locking charm?" he questioned without venom.

She narrowed her eyes at him before responding, "I've done them myself before, Malfoy. The anti-charm was fairly easy to figure out. And your password was ridiculous. _Dragon's lair_, really? How witty of you."

"Seems like I underestimated you, Granger," he laughed quietly.

Hermione rolled her chocolate brown eyes, silently breathing out in relief. He had forgiven her in his own little way, even though he hadn't said anything after her speech. Giving him a pointed look, she waved her wand over the door and muttered spells under her breath, a satisfied smile on her face after a few moments.

"What did you just do to my door, Granger?" the blond wizard asked as he narrowed his silvery grey orbs.

"_Our_ door, Malfoy," Hermione corrected, putting her hands on her waist.

"You're going to leave it there?" He raised an eyebrow at her, staring at her questioningly. Draco had assumed that the moment she found out about the door that she would transfigure it right back into his wall.

She sighed as she admitted grudgingly, "Well, it _was_ a good idea, seeing as we'd be working together a lot…"

He smirked victoriously, and she scowled, causing his smirk to widen.

"Paying me a compliment, Granger? Thought I'd never see the day. If you're already being nice to me, I'd wager that you're going to be head over heels in _love_ with me in a few months- not that I blame you. I _am_ rather good looking, wealthy, intelligent…" he trailed off, smirking.

"Oh sod off, Malfoy, there is no way that I'm falling in love with a _ferret _like you!" she exclaimed indignantly before adding, "And you forgot to add pigheaded, stupid, frustrating, egotistical narcissist to the list."

"Well, you _did_ fall for a _Weasel_," he drawled, disgusted. "And Granger, you can't possibly call me stupid. You know for a fact that I am not," he said defensively, folding his arms across his chiseled chest. He could endure all offensive remarks except for one- 'stupid' for he knew it wasn't true. Draco sat back in his seat, daring Hermione with his eyes to argue.

"Did you know that weasels and ferrets are in the same family, Malfoy?" Hermione asked innocently, raising an eyebrow at him. "And oh boo hoo. Just because you were the best in Slytherin House…" she trailed off, avoiding his eyes. Hermione had to admit to herself that she was half lying when she said that he was only the best in Slytherin House- because she clearly remembered frantically calculating her scores and having a heart attack when Malfoy's scores were always so close to her own, almost beating her out of the valedictorian spot.

He leaned back leisurely in his chair, smirking as he said, "Admit it, Granger. You gave yourself multiple heart attacks every time we had a test because I matched you point for point. And you know as well as I do that if I took the liberty of _actually_ handing in that drab Charms essay- well let's just say that Hogwarts would've had a much better looking valedictorian."

Hermione opened her mouth in indignation, her eyebrows furrowing together, her hands on her hips. When no words came to her and it dawned on her that Malfoy really _had_ been that close to beating her, she just opened and closed her mouth until finally sputtering out, "You… you stingy little _ferret_!"

Raising a perfect eyebrow, Malfoy said, "They call you the smartest witch of our age yet you fail to come up with a proper jibe. Tells us a lot about our generation, doesn't it?"

Hermione threw him a ferocious glare before crossing her arms and replying, "Unlike you, I refuse to act like a childish First Year." She strode to one of the two mahogany chairs in front of his desk and sat down, smoothing the skirt of her dress. Looking up, Hermione placed her hands in her lap and stated, "So. The case."

Rubbing his chin, Draco stared warily at the witch in front of him. Sweet Salazar, she made him bloody furious then proceeded stride into his office without a warning and _apologize_, surprising him immensely. And then the damn witch bantered with him and now she wanted to talk about the case? Merlin, he hated her. Stupid, infuriating witch. Looking at her with impassive eyes, he stated back, "The case. What do we know?"

Hermione tilted her head, gathering her thoughts. "We know the murderer's motive is most likely resentment of Pureblood and Muggle-born relations. The killer left a pattern of branding or carving a certain house crest in all his victims- most likely the crest of the Gaunt family. From both these facts, we can most likely deduce that the killer was a Death Eater or a supporter of Voldemort in some way…" she reeled off, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

Draco cupped his face in one hand and thought over the facts of the case summarized to him by the brunette witch. So far, they had a motive and one potential lead on the house crest, but apart from that he was drawing to a blank in coming up with a way to catch the murderer before there is a next victim. As Malfoy sat in his seat, turning the facts over and over in his head for a hint that he missed, Hermione sat across from him, twiddling with her wand. Her deep brown eyes were far away and assumed the shining look like it always did when she was soaked into her thoughts.

'_Think Hermione, think!_' she thought to herself. _'The killer seems to be a Pureblood elitist. They seem keen in seeking to destroy Pureblood and Muggle-born or Muggle relationships. And there are no leads except for perhaps the mark on all the victims…'_ Hermione let out a soft frustrated groan, looking up from her hands. In front of her was a very distressed Draco Malfoy who donned the same thwarted look upon his face that she wore. His fine blonde hair was in his face as his light grey eyes shone of utmost concentration. She laughed inwardly to herself- here was Draco Malfoy, who had given her such taunting and jibes for being a Muggle-born in their Hogwarts years, now struggling to capture a Pureblood elitist who was out to get non exclusively Pureblood couples. The irony of it- the most Pureblood man she knew, working towards the same goal as the Muggle-born he'd taunted for most of his life.

Hermione's breath hitched in her throat and her hands gripped her wand tightly. Her deep eyes flashed as a realization dawned upon her. Malfoy, who was brought roughly out of his thoughts by Hermione's gasp, looked up quickly and stared expectantly at the witch in front of him. Yet Hermione did not notice, for she was staring wide eyed at the wall above him, her eyes unseeing. The brunette witch looked as if she'd been petrified once more- she sat so still in her seat, barely breathing.

"Granger!" Malfoy roughly snapped, his eyes flashing in annoyance. "Either tell me what's on that hare-brained mind of yours or _get out of my office_."

At the sound of his voice, Hermione's head snapped up and she gave a start as if she did not realize that Malfoy was in the office with her. Quickly turning her head in all directions before rising dazedly from her chair, she stammered, "Right… right… I'll see you tomorrow, Malfoy…"

"Granger, where do you think you're going? You need to bloody spit out what made you look like you've had a staring contest with the damn basilisk before you leave!" the blond wizard demanded.

Hermione appeared not to have heard him. She approached the door in a haze and absentmindedly turned the handle, stammering, "Yeah Malfoy… Case tomorrow… See you…"

After the door closed shut behind Hermione, removing all traces of her exasperating brown hair from his office, Draco sat in his seat with his thumb and pointer finger on his forehead, his elbow leaning on the rest of his chair. _'That bloody witch!' _he thought to himself. '_She's mental, there's no other explanation for it. The press is too Gryffindor to admit that she's a right goner and blame it on her so-called genius mind._' Malfoy snorted quietly. '_Genius my arse. Must've gone mental from hanging out with Pothead and Firecrotch too much_.' Shaking his head, Malfoy rose from his seat and gathered his belongings before heading for the Floos in the Atrium. He was more than looking forward to having a nice bottle of Firewhiskey after his stressful day with the idiotic Gryffindor princess.


	10. Frightful Thoughts

**Disclaimer: Ay. If I wrote the Harry Potter series, Hermione Granger's name after the Epilogue would've been Hermione Granger Malfoy. **

Hermione made her way to the Atrium, unobservant of anything around her. She was completely consumed in her thoughts and it was a miracle that she was able to step into the Floo and recite her home address. After throwing the green powder haphazardly at her feet, she felt the familiar sensation of transport and stepped out into her living room when it stopped. The sight that greeted her was of Ginny nestled lovingly in Harry's embrace, both lying down comfortably on the couch. When the two saw her, they both started and broke apart quickly to greet her. Hermione pulled herself out of her thoughts as quickly as she could and beamed at her two best friends.

"Well, well, well, you two. Mind if I take a picture and send it to Molly?" she teased, running one slender hand through her soft brown hair.

Ginny glared at Hermione playfully and Harry chuckled before responding, "No, I don't think I would mind… that is if I had a wish to die a slow and painful death."

Smiling quickly at Harry and Ginny, Hermione hurried upstairs, feeling urgent to return to her thoughts. The redheaded witch who never missed a beat raised her delicate eyebrows at Harry. When the dark haired wizard gave her a look with his emerald eyes that clearly stated '_Probably Malfoy_', Ginny leaped out of his arms with a yelp. "How can I be so stupid!" she exclaimed in distress. "It was Hermione's first day of working with Draco sodding Malfoy and I didn't even _ask_ her about it! No wonder she seemed so distracted… do you think he said something to make her upset?" The redhead paced around the large living room quickly, fretting, before racing up the stairs after Hermione.

..0.

Hermione quickly dropped her bag and stripped out of her work dress. Putting on her most comfortable pair of jeans and her favorite Harvard sweatshirt she'd purchased during her time of studying at the school after graduating Hogwarts, she crashed on her bed with her loose hair spread in all directions. Closing her eyes, Hermione let herself be consumed by her thoughts. _'The killer is most likely targeting Pureblood and Muggle-born or Muggle relationships… and Draco Malfoy is perhaps the most famous Pureblood in all of Wizarding England- if not the whole Wizarding world. And the whole world knows of our hostile relationship… if we were to become 'romantically involved', the press would have a field day and there would be no way that the killer could ignore the most public Pureblood and Muggle-born relationship…'_

Hermione covered her eyes with both her hands and sighed. There had to be another way. There _had_ to be. It would just… take her some time to think of another plan. _'But what if the time that it takes you to come up with something else costs another's life?_' she asked herself. _'Maybe we could monitor a Pureblood and Muggle-born relationship that already exists… but then that would be putting other peoples' lives in danger. _Hermione grabbed a pillow and hugged it to her stomach tightly. Deep inside, she had already accepted the fact that she would have to proposition a fake relationship to Malfoy. Groaning, she wondered, _'How can Malfoy and I possibly pretend to be in a relationship when we can barely stand being in the same room? We would have to hold hands-'_ Hermione shuddered at the thought of the blond wizard's hand around her own- it gave her unpleasant chills to think about even his skin coming in contact with hers. _'Maybe he won't agree to it. After all, he couldn't be totally over his prejudices. He'd never even pretend to be in a relationship with the 'insufferable Muggle-born'. Maybe-' _

A sharp rap on the door shook Hermione out of her thoughts. Sitting up and crossing her legs, she pulled her hair back into a loose bun and called out, "Come in!"

Her door quickly opened and Ginny rushed into the room, bursting with apologies. "'Mione, I'm so, so, _so_ sorry I didn't ask you about today! I was a total git! Oh Merlin, this totally proves that Ron Weasley is my brother. Oh Merlin, oh Merlin, I'm turning into Ron! How was it? Did he say anything?" the redhead rattled off. "Should I go give him a nice sting of my Bat-Bogey Hex?" she threatened menacingly, sitting down on the bed across from Hermione.

Hermione smiled at her best friend and took the other witch's hand, squeezing it gently before letting it go. "Gin, it's fine. Really, I'm a big girl now," she laughed, her eyes shining. "He actually wasn't _all_ that bad, although we had two huge arguments today."

Ginny gaped at Hermione, surprised. "Really?"

Hermione nodded. "I actually… kind of overstepped my boundaries today and was far harsher to him than he was to me," she admitted, twiddling her fingers. Ginny raised her eyebrows and prodded her silently to go on. "I… compared him to his father and told him that he became an Auror just to save his sorry arse from Azkaban."

Ginny's large chocolate eyes widened. "So what did he say?" she gasped.

"He really didn't say anything- he just told me never to compare him to Lucius Malfoy ever again," Hermione replied. After a moment she added quietly, "I kept waiting for it. For him to say 'Mudblood'. But he never did."

At that statement, Hermione surprised herself as much as she did to Ginny. She hadn't known consciously that she was waiting for Malfoy to sneer at her about her parentage all day, but now that she said it out loud, Hermione realized that she had been waiting for it. The jibes, the taunting about her being a Muggle-born. But not once had he insulted her blood- he'd insulted her clothes, her level of intelligence, and returned her jibes, but not once had he muttered one word about her non-Wizarding heritage.

As both girls sat in silence, Hermione looked down and thought to herself, '_Maybe it won't be so bad. We'd only have to act like a couple in public and we'll both know that it's a part of the investigation. The only people we'd put at risk would be ourselves, and potential victims would be safe temporarily- the murderer would be too busy chasing after us._'

When Hermione looked up, she gave a surprised start. She'd forgotten that Ginny was there, and now the ginger witch was staring at her inquisitively.

"Something's on your mind that's bothering you, isn't it," Ginny stated, rather than questioned.

"No, not at all. What makes you say that?" Hermione laughed nervously.

Ginny narrowed her eyes and said, "You're playing with your fingers and you haven't said a word for the past ten minutes. When you actually looked up from your hands you were surprised to see me. Am I wrong?"

Smiling, Hermione tried to mollify the redheaded witch. "I'm just tired, that's all. Long day."

Ginny gave her a disbelieving look with her chocolate brown eyes.

"Really, Gin. I'm fine. Just need some sleep. Go pay Harry some attention before I owl Molly!" Hermione said teasingly.

Ginny playfully glared at Hermione before reaching out to squeeze her knee gently and get up from the bed. "You know, 'Mione, if you ever need to talk, I'm here."

The brunette witch smiled lovingly at the witch who had grown to be her sister. "I know, Gin. I love you."

"Love you too, 'Mione. Get some sleep," Ginny said quietly before casting a quick "_nox_" and darkening Hermione's room before shutting the door behind her.

Hermione laid in bed long before Ginny left the room, trying to convince herself to set her personal dislike for Draco Malfoy for the sake of the case and fell into a fitful sleep where the voice of a certain blond little boy's tauntings haunted her for the rest of the night.

..0.0.

Ginny shut Hermione's door quietly, sensing that the brunette needed some privacy. She quickly hurried to the living room, where Harry fell asleep on the sofa with his hair mussed up and his glasses askew. Smiling softly, she made her way quietly to the couch and sat at the end of it, staring at the sleeping wizard. It warmed Ginny's heart to see Harry so vulnerable. Without his guard up. Although he was out of harm's way and did not have to always have to be on alert, Ginny knew that he subconsciously was suspicious of anything that was new and planned multiple escape plans upon entering new places. Yet now, as he slept and explore the realms of his mind that were dreams, he looked so young, reminding Ginny of the days when the eyes most beautiful to her did not have the aged look about them- the look that clearly stated that he had seen much more than a person his age should see in his lifetime.

Lifting one hand, Ginny reached out and slowly smoothed the hair out of Harry's face, running her fingers through the soft black mess. She leaned in and kissed his forehead gently, then moved to take of his glasses when he stirred and caught her hand in his. They stared into each other's eyes for a long moment, having a silent conversation only they could understand, then he took her in his arms where she nestled comfortably.

"Still worrying about 'Mione, are you," Harry stated knowingly, his voice raw from sleep.

"Like I always am," Ginny replied, laughing softly.

Softly kissing the top of her head, the black haired wizard said quietly, "She'll be fine, Gin. Hermione's a big girl now. She isn't the brightest witch of our age for nothing."

"I know," Ginny sighed, giving in.

Holding each other close, the two fell asleep, where in dreamland they reunited again.

**Author's Note: Sorry it took so long to update! I absolutely **_**suck**_**. But I'm actually excited to write next chapter- I don't even know how Draco will respond to Hermione's proposition! But I promise, QUICKER UPDATES. I legitimately **_**will**_** try to update every weekend. Every review gets me more motivated to write, so please leave reviews- the literally mean the world to me! I love you all Dramione shippers and I know this had more Hinny than Dramione in it- but I promise that more Draco/Hermione is coming! Chapterloads. I promise. Love you all, thank you for taking the time to read! I'm so honored. Thank you.**


	11. The Commencement of Pretenses

**Disclaimer: Yup. I keep dreaming every day that Harry Potter is my brain child and that Dramione is actually canon but... hasn't happened yet. Psst! Check out my former Beta's page- Mischief . Managed . 1998 - she has absolutely wonderful writing! This one goes out to you, lovely!**

Malfoy stepped out from the fireplace in his foyer, where instantly his house elf greeted him.

"Master Malfoy!" Spiero squeaked, "Mistress is in the Green Room- do you need anything, sir?"

Handing his cloak to Spiero to be whisked away with a snap to one of the hundreds of closets in the Manor, Draco loosened his tie carelessly before replying, "No, thank you, Spiero. I'll just go see Mother now before heading up to my room. Could you have a bottle of Firewhiskey and a glass for me upstairs please?"

"Yes, of course sir!" the elf exclaimed eagerly before bowing and Apparating away to the kitchens.

Draco ran his fingers through his platinum blonde hair quickly before treading through the vast Manor to the Green Room. He ignored the steely gazes of his ancestors as he walked through the halls, knowing just what they were thinking. '_Blood traitor. Working against all the ideals the Malfoy name has been brought up to believe in. Accepting 'Mudblood filth' into magical society,'_ they all seemed to hiss at him silently. But Draco was used to the glares of his silent ancestors and whisked by them without a second glance, finally arriving at the Green Room.

"Draco?" he heard his mother call out.

"Yes, Mother," he replied, making his way over to the Lady of the Manor, who was sitting elegantly in a plush, deep green sofa with a book in her hand. Giving her a small smile, Draco kissed the top of her head and allowed her to squeeze his hand momentarily before pulling away to sit across from her in a chair that matched the sofa.

"You look tired," Narcissa Malfoy commented, her light blue eyes taking in his presence with the gaze only mothers could perfect.

"Well, you see Mother, I've just spent the whole day with the most frustrating bloody witch on the planet," Draco stated, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers and closing her eyes.

Instead of chiding him gently for his language like she usually would, Narcissa Malfoy raised her delicate blonde eyebrows and shut her book, her interest piqued.

"How did it go today?"

"She's bloody infuriating. We've made no leads on the case and all we managed to do today was to bicker our heads off," he grumbled.

"Hermione Granger's gotten quite pretty, hasn't she?" Narcissa asked teasingly, her eyes filled with amusement.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Mother, all traces of attractiveness disappear the instant she opens that bloody mouth of hers- and let's just say there isn't _one_ moment where she can keep her loud mouth shut."

"Surely there's _one_ moment where she's not talking? Is she pretty then?" the blonde witch prodded, curious.

Draco dropped his arm on the chair said exasperatedly, "Mother."

Narcissa's laugh rang out and filled the room as she held up her hands in sign of defeat. As much as Draco was annoyed by his mother, it warmed his heart to hear her laughter again. There was not much laughter when the Dark Lord reigned over his house and also for years after his father was sent to Azkaban. Only recently had Narcissa begun to change in small ways, such as laughing out loud or showing affection in her eyes, ridding herself of her stoic Lady of the Manor mask- and all of these changes, however small, meant the world to Draco. He had missed her laughter, the easy way that she smiled before showering him with kisses before the return of Lord Voldemort- and after nineteen years, signs of Narcissa Black were coming back slowly.

Rising from the chair, Draco made his way out of the room after placing another quick peck in his mother's blonde hair.

"So, does this mean I have to avoid the Daily Prophet so that I don't have to read about your tomfoolery with various women during your time in England?" Narcissa called out with a teasing voice as her son left the room.

"I make no promises, Mother, but I'll try my best to tone it down," Draco called back as he made his way down the East wing to his bedroom in the West wing.

Sighing and smiling softly before shaking her head to herself, she flipped open her book and returned to the fantasy world while mindlessly caressing the spot in her hair where her son had pressed his delicate lips on to.

..0.0.

Draco strew aside his button down and changed quickly into emerald green pajama pants. Throwing himself back on his bed, he felt the cool fabric underneath his body refresh him. Leaning up on one elbow, Malfoy reached out and poured himself a cup of Firewhiskey into a glass which was placed meticulously on the bedside table as promised by his house elf. Downing the glass in one gulp, he breathed in loudly and plopped back down on the bed, gripping his hair in his hands.

'_You're just like your slimy father, doing whatever possible to save your ferrety self from trouble because you're a __coward__.'_ Her nauseating voice infiltrated Draco's mind, repeating over and over again. '_I am nothing like my father_,' he reminded himself in efforts to calm himself down, '_I will never become like my father._' Somewhere, from the dark recesses of his mind cajoled Lucius Malfoy's malicious drawl, '_Oh but Draco- just like me; you do not know how to love. But what do you need that for? Love is for cowards. Control- power. That's what we Malfoy men like._'

Draco gripped his head with both his hands, trying to block out his father's voice from his mind. '_No. I will never manipulate and control for my own gain- I will never kill for the pleasure of it,' _he whispered. Damn Granger. Damn her to the darkest pits of Hell. Just as he regained control of his mind from the evil grip of Lucius Malfoy that had infiltrated it- just as the nightmares of war had stopped haunting him, those simple words from the brunette witch had triggered the terror that consumed his mind ever since the end of the war all over again.

As the effect of the Firewhiskey began to spread through his body, sleep pulled Draco under, where he relived the screams of the faces that begged him for help- the nightmares that he would never forget.

..0.

Hermione awoke from a long, fitful slumber with a start. '_It's a dream. It's a dream,_' she thought to herself in efforts to calm her flying heartbeat. Staring at the Muggle digital clock next to her bed, she realized that it was almost time to get up. Pushing her hair back from her face, she wondered for a moment why she had such a dreaded feeling in her chest and suddenly remembered exactly why she was felt that way- '_I have to tell Malfoy to be my fake boyfriend._' Groaning to herself, Hermione made her way into the bathroom and robotically went through her morning routine, her mind otherwise occupied.

When her feet hit the first floor, Hermione was greeted with the aroma of French toast swirling through the living room from the kitchen. She treaded mindlessly to the kitchen where Ginny whirled around in a cheery yellow apron tied over her jeans and soft pink tank top to greet good morning.

"Morning, sleepy head!" the redhead chirped.

Hermione looked around the kitchen, still consumed in her thoughts when it registered in her mind that Ginny had said 'good morning'. With a start Hermione replied, "Oh! Good morning, Gin!"

After quickly scooping the French toast from the pan onto pristine white dishes with blue decorating, Ginny wiped her hands on her apron before eyeing Hermione suspiciously. "You didn't sleep well."

Hermione laughed at how well Ginny knew her. "Oh Gin. Never miss a thing, do you?"

Throwing Hermione a sly smile the other witch replied, "Of course. I'm the daughter of Molly Weasley- the woman who raised seven children and is still alive to tell the tale."

Shaking her head affectionately, Hermione walked over and set the table, pouring pumpkin juice in both her and Ginny's glasses. After the two young women were seated at the table working on their breakfast, Ginny spoke out, "So. What is it?"

Hermione stopped mid-fork and looked at Ginny questioningly. "What's what?"

Ginny narrowed her eyes and set her fork down. "You know exactly what. The thing that made you not sleep well." She took a sip from her pumpkin juice. "Is it… is it nightmares about the war again?" she asked, her face forming into a worried frown.

Hermione tried her best to act normal under Ginny's careful scrutiny. "It's nothing," she said, taking another bite of her French toast and acting nonchalant.

When Ginny continued to fix Hermione under her stare, Hermione laughed, "What, can't a girl have a good old fashioned nightmare once in a while?"

"Alright, alright," Ginny conceded before returning to her French toast.

Hermione finished up the last bits of her food on her plate, swiping the extra maple syrup off the plate with her last piece of bread and putting it in her mouth before getting up from the table. As Hermione reached into her pocket secretly behind Ginny's back to cast the washing dishes spell, the redhead spoke out, "Don't even _think_ about it, Hermione Jean Granger."

Hermione smiled before protesting, "But Gin! You make me breakfast every morning and don't even let me help- washing the dishes is just one simple flick of a wand!"

"It just makes me feel efficient, 'Mione. I need to get up, cook, and do the dishes to feel really awake. It's my way of starting the day," Ginny explained, also rising from the table.

"You're so weird," Hermione said lovingly before making her way to the Floo.

"Um. 'Mione?" Ginny called out.

"Yes?"

Ginny made her way over and quickly cast a spell on Hermione's blouse which tucked itself into her crisp black pants.

"Oops," Hermione blushed.

Raising her eyebrow as if to say '_that's not all_', Ginny raised her wand once more and uttered a spell that made Hermione's earrings face the right direction, for the face of her earring was on the back of her earlobe.

"Something's _really_ on your mind, Hermione," Ginny said accusingly, crossing her arms.

"It's probably just an off day," Hermione laughed nervously. With a wave and a '_thanks, Gin!_' she threw the green powder in her hands at her feet, stating clearly '_Ministry of Magic, England!'_

..0.

Hermione stepped off the lift when the soothing voice announced '_Level Nine, Department of Magical Law Enforcement_'. Squaring her shoulders and briefly stopping outside the hallway of the Auror office to whisper words of encouragement to herself, she reached out an arm and opened the door, heading inside.

"Good morning!" she called to Tracy.

Tracy, who was scribbling over a pile of papers looked up sharply and knocked over the inkbottle in surprise when she saw Hermione. Blushing furiously at her clumsiness, Tracy stammered, "G-good morning, Auror Granger!"

Flashing a quick smile to the rumpled girl, Hermione strode into her office quickly and shut the door, thanking Merlin that Malfoy was not yet in. Placing her leather bag next to her desk, she began pacing in front of it, muttering to herself. '_Get yourself together, Hermione! Who cares if you hate the git. You're an Auror. You need to do anything to keep the Wizarding population safe.'_

In Hermione's haste, she did not notice the blonde wizard who was leaning nonchalantly against her wall by her bookshelves with his hand in his black blazer pocket, looking like a picture straight out of a magazine. She only stopped her pacing and yelped in surprise when a cool, deep voice cut into her muttering- "Twenty six seconds late, Granger. Unacceptable. And not to mention the fact that you walked straight past me without even _seeing_ me. Tell me you're one of the Heads of Department how?"

Hermione quickly regained her composure and straightened up, crossing her arms defiantly. "What are you doing in _my office_, Malfoy?" she hissed, her eyes flashing.

"Well, you see, unlike some people I was actually _on time_ for work and I wanted to see if my _lovely partner_ was in so we could actually get a lead on the case before another body shows up," he stated scathingly, his cool grey eyes impassive.

At his words, Hermione froze, all traces of defiance gone from her face. '_Do it, Hermione. Do it now!_' she told herself as she turned around to face the wizard who was leaning against her wall comfortably as if it were his.

Draco raised a perfect eyebrow before saying, "You know, Granger, I find it rather irritating when some bushy haired beaver walks out of my office in a zombie like trance before even telling me what ideas she got from the case."

Hermione felt annoyance and the urge to scream at the over confident, pig headed, _imbecile_ in her office- but then calmed herself, knowing that her proposition would only be put into action if both Malfoy and herself were at a state of relative calm. Draco silently watched Hermione's face contort into annoyance and then clear out into an impassive mask. He was surprised- Malfoy had expected the witch to retaliate with a nasty retort or flash him a hex. Instead, she remained silent, thinking to herself, tapping her fingers on her chin rhythmically.

After a few seconds, Malfoy could not take it any longer. He had to know what she was thinking, for he was almost certain that it was pertinent to the case. He opened his mouth to speak, "Grang-"

Before he could get her name out, Hermione took a deep breath and cut him off with the words that managed to silence him effectively.

"Malfoy- you need to be my new boyfriend."

**Author's Note: SORRY FOR THE CLIFFY, LOVELIES! I really, **_**really**_** want to not leave a cliffy, but it's almost 7 and I've been writing since 5 and can't put off studying any longer. But it was a quick update, just like I promised! All the reviews really got me motivated, so **_**please keep posting more feedback**_**- I'm not lying when I say it motivates me to update faster. Again, thank you all so much for taking the time to read my Dramione- I feel so undeserving! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Hugs and kisses to all, and a virtual Tom Felton to all of you who've put me on your favorite author lists, favorite this story, put me on your Author Alerts, and/or put this story on Story Alerts!**


	12. Realizations and Beginnings

**Author's Note: Alrightie, folks! This is the chapter where he finds out! I sincerely hope you like it! Reviews are like Tom Felton to the soul, so please do leave them, no matter how short or long! Tell me your thoughts, I'd love to hear them!**

**Disclaimer: Oi. If I wrote the Potter series, Gred and Forge would be invincible. But alas, that is not the case.**

Hermione watched Malfoy's face change from impassive to shocked as the news sank in- then his face contorted from a mask of shock to confusion. He opened and closed his mouth before furrowing his eyebrows and sputtering, "Granger, have you gone _mental?_ I always assumed that you were a loony but I didn't know that you were outright _mental_!"

Hermione crossed her arms defensively and huffed, "Oh sod off, Malfoy, and don't let this feed your gargantuan ego. I assure you that I would never, _ever_ feel attracted to you."

Malfoy straightened himself out from leaning on the wall and crossed his arms, looking down at the small witch in front of him as if she were crazy. "Well, then _what's wrong with you, Granger?_ I don't quite get what you're trying to do here."

Hermione rolled her deep brown eyes, sighing before starting her explanation. "We know the probable motive of the killer, right?" When Malfoy did not respond she prodded again, "Right?"

He shot her a look with his grey eyes, exasperated. Hermione rolled her eyes in frustration before continuing, "He or she is after Pureblood and Muggle-born or Muggle couples. And who is the most famous pureblooded git that we know?"

As Draco listened to the brunette's explanation, realization dawned upon him. '_Shite, she's right_,' he thought. '_Bloody hell! I have to pretend to be Granger's bloody boyfriend?'_

"Bloody hell, no!" Malfoy exclaimed, putting a hand over his eyes.

Hermione rolled her eyes once more, having already gone through the initial shock of the idea of them being in a relationship together the previous night. "Let me know when you think of a better idea, Malfoy. Oh and it really is no big deal if there ends up being another body along the way. Just another life, right?"

Malfoy groaned into his hands, his platinum blond hair falling into his face. She was right. '_Of course she's bloody right. Of course this would happen. Life has been too good to be true lately. Well, here's my rude awakening,' _he thought bitterly.

"How is this going to work, Granger? We hate each other. We've hated each other for the past eleven years. How do we convince people that this is real?" Malfoy questioned harshly.

Hermione glared up at the wizard who was a full foot and a few inches taller than she was. "It's simple. _Grow up_, Malfoy. It doesn't matter how we feel. We're Aurors and we need to set aside our personal issues and work to make the Wizarding community as safe as we can- as soon as possible." Sighing, she added, "Plus, women are infatuated with the idea of 'forbidden love' and silly things like that so it won't be a problem of convincing anyone."

Sighing, Draco sat down on one of the chairs at the coffee table and stretched his legs out, leaning one elbow on an armrest with his hand supporting his head. Looking up at Hermione and penetrating her deep browns with his silvery greys, he asked seriously, "You know what this means for you, Granger, doesn't it?"

Confusion flitted across Hermione's face briefly before she inquired, "What do you mean, what it means for me?"

"We're going to be showing the whole Wizarding world that Pureblood and Muggle-born relationships are something that should be accepted. The most famous Muggle-born in a relationship with the heir of the most prominent Pureblood family… Everyone will know," Draco stated factually.

Hermione scoffed. "I'm not concerned about my safety. I'm a fully trained Auror-"

"That's not what I'm worried about," Draco said, cutting her off. "As a member of the Pureblood society, my family _does_ have a reputation to uphold. It's not an issue that you're a Muggle-born. Once I show publically that you and I are…" he paused, as if it pained him to say the next words, "… in a relationship, other Purebloods will soon follow or think it's okay if a Malfoy is doing so."

Hermione sat down in the chair across the coffee table from him, crossing her legs and raising her eyebrows at Malfoy, prodding him to go on.

"But Purebloods being Purebloods- they won't want to change so drastically. The whole mixing blood thing, even if it's just a relationship will daunt them for a while- so it's imperative that-"

"That what?" Hermione asked impatiently, drinking in every word.

Malfoy smirked maliciously before replying, "That you stop dressing in the way even my _house elves_ would know to scoff at."

"Absolutely not!" Hermione exclaimed. "I am _not_ changing my wardrobe just for this. You're not doing me a _favor_ by agreeing to this- it's a _mission_. I don't have to do anything you tell me to." She shot him a dark glare before adding defensively, "And who says House Elves have bad fashion senses? Maybe it's the fact that they have nothing but _pillow cases_ to wear all their lives that they don't know what matches and what doesn't!"

Draco smirked. "You're a Gryffindor, Granger. If I tell you that I won't do the mission if you don't get a makeover, you'll have to do it. And if there's another victim because you didn't agree to a _measly makeover_, you'll know that a part of it will be your fault for not preventing it. This is where the Gryffindor stupidity comes in. You know I'm right and you'll agree, won't you, Princess?" he drawled, smirking when Hermione scowled, proving his logic right.

"_Don't_ call me Princess," Hermione hissed, her eyes flashing.

"Thought so," he claimed as he ignored her statement and rose elegantly from the chair.

Hermione watched silently, fuming as he made his way to her door. Malfoy paused before turning the handle. "Be ready to go out in an hour, Granger. We're starting this mission today," he commanded as he strode swiftly out the door.

"Malfoy! We're not done yet! Malfoy!" Hermione shouted- yet she was too late. Her door shut with a frustrating _click _and she was alone in her office. She sighed and went limp in her chair, placing her head in her hands. '_What have I gotten myself into?_'

..0.

Malfoy stepped into his office and sat down on the leather chair, thinking. He leaned back in the chair briefly before deciding to stand up. He had too much on his mind to be simply sitting down. The blond wizard stood up and swiftly removed his blazer from his body and draped it over his chair before pacing the office, unbuttoning the top two buttons of his shirt with one hand as he did so.

'_The killer probably knows about my reputation for switching women every other day- maybe they'll think it's just a fling and leave us alone…_' he thought to himself. '_But the most famous Muggle-born and Pureblood in a relationship would cause a spectacle and the press would go crazy. It would be showing the Wizarding world that Pureblood and Muggle-born relationships are something that should not be scorned, but accepted. So maybe they'll still come after us…_'

Draco raked his fingers through his fine hair and continued to pace his spacious office. '_I need to do something to show the Wizarding population- and the murderer- that I'm 'serious' about…_' he cringed before he continued his thought, '_Granger_'.

Malfoy quit pacing and made his way over to his leather chair and sat down, rubbing his chin. What would make his pseudo relationship with Granger look more than just a simple fling? Stretching out his legs, he thought about all his past relationships. He couldn't recall ever having a serious relationship. In Hogwarts, he had Pansy Parkinson drooling all over him with her claws on any part of him that she could possibly reach- yet he had not returned any of her affectionate sentiments. After Hogwarts and in the duration of Auror training and his career, he had perhaps spent every night with a different woman, with the exception of some celebrities and models- some of which who were Muggles. He'd given them at most a week and then proceeded to break their hearts by never returning their owls or calls. Malfoy could not remember ever waking up and wanting to stay after a night of heavy shagging. He'd always slip out quietly in the morning, casting a quick '_Silencio_' charm on his feet as to not make any noise and wake up whichever sleeping woman was occupying the bed.

A thought crossed Malfoy's mind and his eyes widened for a moment before he groaned loudly to himself. That was it. The bloody witch in the office next to his would have to move in to Malfoy Manor. He felt like bashing his head against the wall until he passed out. First he had to pretend to be in _love_ with the most infuriating, unattractive, and controlling witch he knew, and now he had to _live_ with her? "Shite, shite, shite, shite, _shite_!" Malfoy cursed aloud, his face turning red. Picking up his wand, he quickly cast a '_Reducto_' at a random direction, feeling a grim satisfaction when he heard the smash of something shattering.

At that precise moment, the door on the right wall of his office adjoining his and Hermione's office slammed open, revealing an extremely annoyed brunette. "You stride out of my office like a pompous git telling me that you're dragging me somewhere in an hour without even telling me _where_ and then you proceed to be _late_?" Hermione stormed, marching angrily into his office. She observed the shattered pot that had held a cactus before Malfoy's '_Reducto_' and crossed her arms. "Still haven't grown up, haven't we Malfoy?" she stated scathingly.

Draco shot a fierce glare at the witch before him and retorted, "How can I 'grow up' when I have to have the whole bloody Wizarding world think that I'm in love with the likes of _you_? The world must think I'm mental, being in '_love_' with a bushy haired know-it-all."

Hermione rolled her eyes and commanded, "Shut up and get your coat, ferret. I'd like to get started on this case before anyone else gets hurt."

Letting out a frustrated moan, Draco stood up and picked up his blazer from the chair. He quickly buttoned the single button on the suit jacket and strode past Hermione, leaving the office.

"Malfoy! Where are we going?" Hermione called out as she tightened the belt on her jacket and quickly charged after him.

"You'll see," Malfoy said as he made his way out of the Department and over to the lifts.

Hermione hastily called over her shoulder to Tracy, "We'll be back later!" and ran after the blond wizard.

..0.

After stepping off the lift, Malfoy walked to the nearest Apparition point outside the Ministry. His stride was so fast that Hermione had to run to keep up with him. When he finally stopped at the Apparition point, Hermione nearly crashed into Malfoy's back because of how fast she was running. Panting, she shouted angrily, "Malfoy!"

Ignoring her angry outburst, Malfoy commanded, "Take my arm."

With her chest heaving up and down, Hermione looked up at the blond wizard and scrunched her face. "What?"

"Are you deaf? Take. My. Arm," Malfoy said impatiently, offering her his arm.

Hermione stared at the arm that he offered in disdain. She didn't even want to be _near_ the ferret, let alone touch him. Seeing her hesitation, Malfoy rolled his eyes. "Granger, you are possibly the biggest hypocrite that I know. You harp on me like a banshee about _growing up_ and _changing_ and now you're too disgusted to even touch me." He leaned down and brought his face centimeters away from hers, narrowing his eyes and whispered so his cool breath hit her face. "We're going to _be in a relationship_ soon, Granger, so you better bloody get used to it and _take my arm_," he hissed.

When she still stared at him in shock, he let out a grunt of frustration and forced her hand to clench around his arm and felt the sensation of being squeezed into a tube as he Apparated them both to a location unknown to Hermione.

..0.

When the feeling of being transported through Apparition stopped, Hermione immediately snatched her hand away from Malfoy's arm as if he burned her. Draco started walking ahead of her without even checking behind him to see if she was following him. '_Prat!_' she thought to herself as she hurried to follow him. '_He just automatically assumes that I'll follow him._' Her head prickled in annoyance as she halted in her hurry to catch up to Draco Malfoy. From quickly glancing around, she assumed that she was in Wizarding France, for most of the shops sold dress robes and had elegant signs written in French. Hermione reached into the inner pocket of her jacket and grabbed her wand, casting a quick stinging hex at Malfoy.

Being an Auror, Malfoy did not yelp in pain from the stinging hex but in a millisecond had his wand in his hand, shooting a spell behind him with his back still turned in the general direction of where the stinging hex had been casted from. As he turned around to see who had aimed the spell at him, Hermione lazily flicked her wand and chanted the counter-curse for the defensive spell Malfoy had shot at her. She had to admit, he had impeccable aim. His spell had been directed straight at her, and it had been casted when his back had been turned to her. Had she not expected his retaliation, she probably would have been hurt in some degree.

As Draco recognized the fact that Hermione had sent him the stinging hex, he exclaimed angrily, "What was that for, Granger? Bloody hell!"

Hermione neared a bench in front of a particularly expensive looking store and sat herself down on it, smoothing her skirt out nonchalantly. "Well, you were being a prat and I thought you should know."

"Ugh!" Malfoy shouted in frustration, standing in front of the satisfied witch.

"So. Do you want to answer my question now?" Hermione asked calmly, twirling her wand in her hand.

"What damn question, Granger?" Malfoy asked impatiently, still annoyed from her hex.

"Where are we?"

"You shot a stinging hex at me for _that_? While my back was turned?" the blond wizard yelled.

Without responding, Hermione stared up at the six-foot tall wizard expectantly.

Malfoy sighed in frustration as he closed his eyes briefly. Then he said, "We're in Wizarding France. This is the Fashion District of Wizarding France, where most Wizarding celebrities come to shop. These are the exclusive boutiques that only sell to certain customers- customers with status and money."

Hermione frowned. "You took me _shopping_?"

Tapping his foot, Malfoy replied in a controlled voice, "Like I said before, Granger. If you're going to be _in a relationship_ with the heir of the most prominent Pureblood family, you're going to have to live up to some standards. No one will believe that we're… _serious_ until you clean up and I'm able to bring you to functions."

Hermione stood up with an angry flash of her eyes. "I am _not_ your arm candy, Malfoy."

"Nor did I expect you to be," he replied calmly. "This is just how Pureblood society works. Non-Pureblood elitists won't have a problem accepting me if the saint-like Hermione Granger likes me enough to make me her boyfriend. It's Pureblood society that's the problem. And we're going to make the transition to accept a Muggle-born into the circle easier for them."

"So that's all there is to be a Pureblood woman? Waste galleons upon galleons on clothes and dress like every day is a photo shoot?" Hermione asked scathingly.

"Basically," Malfoy said. "Now come _on_."

He proceeded to walk into the shop in front of the bench. Hermione did a double take when she saw what the displays showed. _Lingerie_. Her eyes widened and she walked back to the bench, sitting down. There was _no way_ that she was going in there- not today, not ever. And especially _not _with Draco Malfoy.

..0.

Malfoy walked into the shop and called out, "Camille!"

An extremely tall witch with legs that went on for miles and long, black hair walked out of the back room and greeted Draco. "Thought I heard your voice!" she exclaimed in a high pitched voice before giving both his cheeks a smooch. Raising her perfectly plucked eyebrows, she asked, "Here by yourself?"

A look of confusion crossed his face before Malfoy glanced behind him to check if Granger was there. Of course she was not. He groaned and said '_be right back_' to Camille before racing out of the store to find Hermione Granger. Luckily for him, she was sitting defensively on the bench where she was before.

"Granger!" Malfoy called out, frustrated.

Hermione crossed her arms and donned the look of a defensive toddler. "I am _not _going in there!" she stated stubbornly.

"Don't make me force you to go inside," he said menacingly.

Glaring up at him, Hermione hissed, "Try me."

Malfoy bent down to pick Granger up and swung him over her shoulder. Surprised by his tactics, Hermione froze for a second before she began pounding on his back, demanding for him to release her. Ignoring her complaints, Malfoy made his way back into the store and dropped the angry Hermione on a plush leather sofa. Camille leaned behind the counter and watched amusedly as he cast a quick _'Silencio_' and '_Immobilus_' on the brunette.

"I knew you switched women often, but did you run out that fast that you had to kidnap one?" Camille said incredulously.

"No, I just need to give her a makeover. And Camille, don't let the press find out. There's a reason why I came to the boutiques here. I want this makeover to be kept an absolute secret until I choose to reveal it," Malfoy stated firmly.

Camille raised her eyebrows again and assured him, "You know us boutique owners in Wizarding France do our best to protect the privacy of our clients. Don't worry, she'll be safe here. You know we're infamous for our security. Even that damn Reeta Skeeter couldn't penetrate our wards."

Flashing her a quick smile, Malfoy pecked her on the cheek and said, "Knew I could count on you."

"Always so charming, Draco Malfoy," Camille cooed before she cast the counter-spells to the quieting and body-binding spell on Hermione.

"-Foy, I'm going to _kill_ you with my bare hands! How _dare_ you pick me up like a piece of trash and _drag_ me into this _bloody_ store! I will_ not_ let you do this to me, I will _not_! _What_ am I _thinking_-"

Camille appraised her with a professional eye and stated confidently, "36B or 34C, no?"

Hermione stopped mid-rant and glanced at the gorgeous witch in front of her in surprise. She did not indicate whether or not Camille was correct.

"I'm right," Camille stated smugly.

Draco raised his eyebrows. Hogwarts robes had certainly covered a lot and so did the clothes that Hermione donned for work.

Hermione blushed as she stared at Camille then turned to see Malfoy. Upon seeing him, she started and went back to her rant. "I'm not a _Barbie_, you git! You can't just _give me a makeover_ like I'm some sort of _doll_!"

"A what?" he asked confusedly.

"Oh, nevermind!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up.

"Remember my conditions, Granger," Malfoy reminded her, settling on the beige leather couch and expecting to be there for a long time. Seeing Granger's furious expression, Draco just knew that it was going to be a long day.

**Author's Note: I want to write more, ugh! But it was getting too long so I cut it off here. Such an inconvenient place to cut it off, but oh well. I hope you guys liked it! Was his reaction okay? How did everything flow? PLEASE leave reviews! They are the Hermione to my Draco- so **_**please leave feedback**_**! I absolutely adore you all. Again, thank you for taking the time to read my little fan fiction. Xoxo.**


	13. Changes of Face Amongst Other Things

**A/N: Sorry loves that I haven't updated in such a long time! School gets in the way, as most of you know. I've had this chapter half written for a long time and I've just gotten to finish it, so I hope you'll like it! It's not as great as I want it to be, and as I said before, this is just the boring part that we have to get through in order to reach the interesting parts. I promise it'll get better! I'm so excited for the chapters to come- I already have scenes and lines in my head that I'm desperate to write so updates will become more frequent as the story progresses! I love each and every one of you, thank you!**

..0.

Camille led an extremely reluctant Hermione through the doors in the back of the store. Before disappearing out of Draco's sight, she shot him a venomous glare promising for vengeance later. Malfoy rolled his eyes and shot her a _deal with it_ look. Before she could retaliate, the black haired witch had dragged her past the doors and away from his view. Sighing, he stretched out on the couch and reminded himself for later to always have a shield charm ready- Granger could be quite nasty if she wanted to.

..0.

The black haired witch directed Hermione to an elevated mini-stage that served as a pedestal, and with a quick flick of her wand Hermione was standing in her undergarments and measuring tapes came flying near the brunette, measuring different parts of her body with lightning speed. Hermione gritted her teeth and planned in her head different ways to maim Malfoy. Perhaps she could shove a nice _Furnunculus _up his arse… or perhaps a nice Jelly-Legs Jinx in a public place while giving a speech. The press would have a field day. The thought of making the blond wizard pay for her suffering brought a small smile to Hermione's face.

While the tapes were busy measuring Hermione and the Quick-Data Quill jotted down her measurements on a piece of levitated parchment, Camille was busy pacing up and down rows upon rows of lingerie in all colors imaginable, sometimes picking up one from the rack, frowning, and setting it back down again, only to repeat the process. When the rustling of the parchment and the scratching of the quill stopped, the black haired witch gave out a triumphant cry and brought over a few items in her hands for Hermione. The brunette noticed that Camille did not seem to be the usual type of mindless girl that tended to drool over Malfoy as if he were a particularly nice hunk of meat- with the chic black glasses that she put on while Hermione was not paying attention, the stylist looked very alert and professional.

When Camille neared the pedestal that Hermione was standing on, she draped the measuring tapes around her neck and stared at the data on the levitated parchment, murmuring a satisfied '_I was right_'. When Hermione crossed her arms over herself bashfully, trying to cover herself up as much as possible, the other witch's head snapped up, her pin straight hair flying gently as she did so. Adjusting her glasses while holding the garments in the other hand, she asked jokingly, "So. Are you going to hex me now?"

Hermione blushed slightly. "No, I don't think so. You weren't the one who picked me up and carried me in here…" At the thought of Draco Malfoy, her face darkened in anger again until she heard Camille's gentle laughter. The stylist cocked her head to one side and studied the brunette witch before her before saying, "You know, I like you. You're feisty and you seem to have more than two brain cells to rub together. Don't get me wrong- I love Draco, but we both know that when he comes to women he's a huge git. So I hope you know what you're doing here. I wouldn't want to see you hurt yourself."

Pressing her arms more tightly to her body, Hermione wanted to tell Camille exactly what she was doing there. Why she was enduring this while on a normal day she would have cursed Draco Malfoy into oblivion. She wanted to tell her that she wasn't a superficial girl who cared about her appearances… but then the images of the brutally murdered victims came into her mind so she bit her lip and then said softly, "I don't know," for that seemed to be the safest thing to say.

The black haired witch was extremely sharp and was able to pick up that there was more to the story than Hermione could say, so in efforts to ease her she flashed the shy witch an understanding smile and got down to business.

"So, I assumed from your little… encounter from before that you're not the type to flash your body everywhere- so I picked this design out for you. It's simple yet elegant, and it covers everything while enhancing what you already have. It's extremely comfortable and it comes with panties that are a good medium between girly briefs and tangas," Camille stated matter-of-factly, running her hands over the fabric and showing Hermione the garments in her hands.

'_He's not even going to see me in my underwear- what's the point of this!_' Hermione fumed inwardly to herself. '_Wait until I get him alone… I swear he won't be able to reproduce little Malfoy brats with some poor girl who'll be the unlucky Malfoy baby breeding machine!_'

Looking down at the black lace bra and underwear that Camille held out to her, Hermione grudgingly admitted that the garments looked sexy while seeming comfortable. Rubbing her hands up and down her arms, she realized that all she wanted to do was to get back into her clothing and cover herself up, then have a nice long rant at Malfoy- perhaps with a few good hexes thrown in. Sighing, Hermione gave Camille an apologetic smile. "That seems fine. I seem to be in extremely capable hands- I'll trust your judgment and take them. All I want to do right now is get back into my clothes and go home," Hermione said wearily.

Camille eyed Hermione once more, thinking to herself how strange it was that Draco actually brought back someone who didn't seem as if she wanted to ravish him all day or want him for his money and fame. Flicking her hair away from her shoulder swiftly, she nodded and waved her wand twice- once to send the items packing and the second to make Hermione's clothes Appear from wherever she Vanished them to. Gratefully, the brunette witch pulled her clothes on and shot the confused stylist a thankful smile and lead herself out of the double doors.

..0.

When Hermione arrived at the main part of the store, she stopped dead in her tracks. Malfoy was lying down on the couch with one elbow propped up and his head cupped in one hand. His mint green and white vertical striped button down stretched over his chiseled chest and abdomen, his blazer unbuttoned. One of his long legs was stretched out while the other was bent slightly in a careless manner, and his foot was clad in shiny black Italian dragon hide. His eyes were closed yet one could see that he was not asleep and his platinum blond hair fell slightly to the side. He looked like something straight out of the _Wizarding's Greatest_ magazine, the magic equivalent to the Muggle _GQ_.

Hermione paused to drink in the sight before her- Merlin knew that she harbored absolutely no feelings whatsoever for Draco Malfoy, but she was a woman, after all. At that moment, it was plain to her exactly why so many brainless women drooled over the blond man stretched out in front of the couch before her. Before she realized it, he cracked one cool, silver eye open and a smirk stretched across his face.

"Like what you see, Granger?"

Hermione snapped back to reality. What was she thinking? She mentally berated herself for even _entertaining_ the idea that Malfoy was remotely attractive. All signs of gorgeousness flew out the window the moment that he opened his mouth. And Merlin knew that Draco Malfoy liked to talk. Narrowing her eyes, she reached into her coat pocket for her wand, making sure it was there in case she the urge to send another Stinging Hex his way got stronger- in which she assured herself that if it did, she would indulge just once.

"Sod off, Malfoy. As if I can ever look at you like a proper human being- let a lone a male. To me, you'll always be the Amazing Bouncing Ferret."

"Fair enough, Granger. To me, you'll always be the bushy haired, buck toothed, insufferable know-it-all. But trust me when I say I'll be fixing the bushy-haired, buck-toothed part. I do have a reputation to uphold, after all," Malfoy sneered as he gracefully pushed himself up and rose from the couch. He made his way swiftly past Hermione and went to bid his goodbye to Camille. He kissed her knuckles and conjured up a beautiful basket of flowers that matched her store perfectly.

"For you, madamoiselle, for putting up with us," he said as he levitated the huge basket on top of the sleek coffee table.

Camille rolled her eyes affectionately and rose on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. Draco flashed her a quick smile before heading out of the store without even sparing a glance to see if Hermione was following him. Furrowing her eyebrows together in frustration, the irate witch thanked the stylist sincerely before walking out after her impatient partner back into the streets of Wizarding France.

..0.

After eight hours of trying different tops, bottoms, skirts, and dresses on at what seemed to be thirty different shops, Hermione and Draco both arrived tiredly at the Auror offices after six full blown arguments, twelve hexes, and more than one hundred shopping bags. By the time they got to the office, everyone had left with the exception of the Maintenance wizards stocking them up on parchment and new inkwells. Hermione tiredly dropped onto one of the chairs at the coffee table in her office, sighing from exhaustion. Once she gained a little bit of energy, she stood up and whirled in on Malfoy. She hadn't been able to talk to him all day, being fussed over by various different stylists with only breaks long enough to scarf down food, and she was about to give him a piece of her mind.

Malfoy eyed the annoyed witch in front of him warily and leaned against her desk, preparing himself for a long rant. He raised one of his eyebrows subtly, cueing her to start so that he could tune her out and then go home. Hermione cast off her jacket and stomped her way across the office in front of the blond wizard, letting all the frustration from the day fill up her mind. There was a moment of absolute silence before Hermione burst out, "_Underwear_, Malfoy? _Underwear_? Why do you even _care_ about what kind of undergarments I wear? If you think even for a _moment_ that we're going to-"

"Don't be disgusting, Granger," Malfoy sneered, cutting her off. "I don't want to get into your knickers. In fact, I'd rather make out with a hippogriff before even _imagining_ you starkers."

Hermione didn't know whether to be relieved or insulted, so she settled for crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at the wizard in front of her.

"Image is built from inside, out. If you feel sexy and comfortable in your undergarments, then you'll surely look sexy and comfortable _in_ clothing, Granger," he continued, speaking to her slowly as if he were conversing with a child. "Now, I'll _nicely_ ask you to cut your rant short because this day has been too bloody long and I want to go home and have a nice glass of Firewhiskey."

Hermione opened her mouth indignantly to relay all the anger inside of her and tell him exactly what she thought of him, but then another more important issue pressed her mind. Calming down, she forced herself to speak in a civil tone.

"Now that we got all of _this_ out of the way-" she gestured to the shopping bags all around her office- "we need to figure the terms for this mission out."

"Alright. So, Granger, I'm assuming you're going to have a million and one rules, Merlin strike me if I'm wrong. So why don't you go ahead so that we can get this over with. That bottle of Firewhiskey is calling my name," Malfoy drawled, crossing his arms impatiently over his chest.

Hermione furrowed her eyebrows. "You shouldn't depend so much on alcohol. It's not exactly a calming potion, you know."

"Yes, Granger. And last time I checked, you weren't my mother. Touching, really, to know that you care so much about me, but do go on as I wish to get drunk and sleep tonight."

The brunette witch gave a small huff of exasperation. "I don't give a rat's arse about you, Malfoy, and don't you forget it." Pushing her curls back from her face, Hermione took in a deep breath and started to speak. "First thing's first. We all know that you're notorious for switching women and using them like your arm candy." When she challenged him with her eyes to argue, he only smirked and stared coolly back at her. "I'm not going to be known as that pushover witch who gets treated like crap but stays with the wanker anyway," she stated firmly.

Malfoy examined his hands nonchalantly and replied, "What are you trying to say, Granger? Spit it out. As I said, I want my bloody Firewhiskey. Dragging you from shop to shop wasn't exactly _pleasant_ for me either."

Digging her fingernails into her arm in order to stop herself from snapping out at him, Hermione continued in a barely contained voice, "What I'm _trying_ to say is that you can't be seen with other women while we're on this mission."

Looking up from his hands, Malfoy stared at her with an impassive face. "So what you're saying is that you're expecting me to not have sex during this whole mission."

Hermione blushed slightly at his crude choice of words but stared back at Malfoy with a determined face. "Yes. I'm not going to be splashed all over the pages of _Witch Weekly_ and the _Daily Prophet_ depicted at the same level as the… _women_ you date then cast off."

"That's ridiculous, Granger, and you know it," he scoffed.

"Don't you understand that peoples' lives are more important than your idiotic _sex life_, Malfoy?" the brunette witch shouted. For the love of Merlin, her hand was itching to grab her wand and shoot a Castration hex on him. Was there even a Castration hex? No matter. She would bloody invent one if she had to.

"I'll resort to Muggle prostitutes if I have to- being publicly your _boyfriend_ is bad enough without getting rid of my sex life," he retorted.

"You would go _that_ low just to fulfill your desires?" she spat, disgust filling her tone.

"Anything before you," he responded just as maliciously.

Hermione took a moment to shoot him a pure look of loathing and then continued on. "Fine. You'll be able to do whatever it is that you do with Muggle prostitutes-"

"Sex, Granger. Sex."

She ignored him. "- during this mission as long as no one finds out about it. The only time that we have to pretend to like each other is in public and wherever we think we're being watched or heard."

Malfoy laughed humorlessly. "That's a given, don't you think, Granger? We can barely stand each other. I highly doubt that we'll be itching to act lovey-dovey in private."

Hermione bit her lip to refrain from making a nasty comment and continued, "Now we just have to decide who to tell. I don't think telling more than one person each is a good idea. Once the killer starts tracking us he might start going after our families and friends…"

The brunette stopped short. She hadn't thought of that aspect of the mission before- although by putting themselves at risk they were saving many Inter-blood couples, they were putting at risk their own beloved friends and families. Judging from Malfoy's visibly tensed jaw, it seemed that he did not give much thought to the dilemma either. Knowing that even though he despised Granger, she was thinking the same thoughts as he was- worrying about their families and friends- Malfoy donned his poker face once more and stated firmly, "Our families and friends will be fine. We'll have the Auror department set up extra strength security wards around the properties of their homes."

Hermione nodded wordlessly, willing herself to believe in what Malfoy had said. '_It's better that it be our families and friends than others'. At least we can provide protection- Inter-blood couples can't unless one of them works in the Auror department,'_ she consoled herself.

"I'm assuming you'll be telling Firecrotch, She-Weasel, or The Lone Savior?" Malfoy stated, rather than questioned.

Raising her eyebrows, Hermione replied, "That's another one. You can't call any of my friends names while I have to put up with you. And our mission needs to be approved by three out of the four Heads of the department, which means that Ginny's out of the question. And between Ron and Harry… I think I'll choose Harry."

"Why, scared of the Weasel?" Malfoy taunted.

"What did I just say about the names?" Hermione snapped. "And no, it's just that Ron has a bigger mouth than Harry does. And he's going to pull the whole Protective Bulldog act and be difficult if he knows I'm intentionally putting myself at risk. It's going to be much easier to convince Harry to vote for this mission."

"Fine. I'll be telling Blaise."

Seeing the look of distrust on Hermione's face, Draco felt a surge of needing to protect his best mate. "He's the most trustworthy person that I know, next to my mother. And I don't think I want my mother to know that I was putting myself at risk on purpose. She's been worry-free ever since my bastard of a father disappeared from our lives and I don't want to change that under any circumstance. I trust Blaise with my life and Merlin knows that I need someone to go to for some vodka and Firewhiskey when I'm through spending days acting like I'm in love with you."

As much as Hermione detested the man before her, she could not deny that his judgment was usually impeccable. Although she had her doubts about Zabini, something about the way Malfoy fervently spoke of him convinced her that Zabini could handle being told the gargantuan secret of the mission. She curtly nodded her assent and racked through her mind of the Wizarding Contract Law information that she had read about in order to not leave any loopholes. Groaning when she remembered the Emotions clause, Hermione pushed herself to get the terms over with.

"We have to address the Emotions clause. The Emotions clause is-"

"The clause of the Wizarding Contract Law included in special Auror missions such as the one that we're drawing up the contract for. The clause entails that the Aurors involved in the mission must not let their personal feelings for each other, malevolent turned affectionate or vice versa, affect the case," Malfoy cut off impatiently.

When Hermione stared at him in surprise, not used to people being at her level of intelligence and knowledge, he stated, "You know, Granger, you're not the only one who reads."

The brunette silently studied him a moment longer, thinking to herself that if he wasn't such a git they possibly could have made great friends-

"You look like Loonly Lovegood, all spaced out and hazy. Get your mind out of wherever it is that you are and finish up the bloody contract. I _need Firewhiskey_," Malfoy said brusquely.

-but he was the biggest git that she'd ever met and so the potential friendship could never be. Scowling, Hermione said with an agitated voice, "So. Are we done here? I need to get lost in a good book just as much as you need your vile Firewhiskey."

"Rather a boring life you have, Granger, going home and reading. I hear your judgmental tone, but personally I'd say my life is a tad more exciting than yours. At least Firewhiskey has numbing effects and doesn't force one to become an insufferable know-it-all."

"Yes, well I don't care about what you think about me, Malfoy. You may be the image of some amazing sex god to the bimbos that seem to be so taken with you, but clearly they're all deaf and blind, or incredibly stupid. Or just all three at once. So I'll take the sign that I have no feelings of attraction to you whatsoever to be a good one, and I might as well cancel my yearly appointment with my optometrist and otologist seeing as my nonexistent attraction for you proves that my vision and hearing are perfectly in order," Hermione replied calmly.

Malfoy acted as if he hadn't heard her. "Don't you have a cat? That ugly old thing that used to follow you around Hogwarts that looked like it got dropped on its face at birth? That's perfect, you can be the model definition of a cat lady," he mused.

"Reading also makes you _smart_, Malfoy. I bet you don't know the effects of pixie dust from Faernaes when mixed with the Anti-Dragon pox potion or what diluted Gillyweed has to be mixed with in order to brew the perfect nasal relief potion," Hermione declared as she Vanished all the shopping bags to her closet at home. Picking up her jacket, she strode out of her office without bothering to listen to Malfoy's retort and let her thoughts linger to the thick book she had waiting for her at home and the pleasant purrs of her certain favorite ginger cat.

**A/N: How was this chapter? A lot of people said that they'd prefer only a part of the chapter dedicated to her makeover so I just wrote in the little scene with Camille in there. I'm thinking there might be one more in depth makeover scene for the few that wanted a whole chapter dedicated to Hermione's change- but we'll see how it goes! Things are finally starting to heat up and as I said before, I'm getting really excited to write these scenes! Sorry for the delayed updates, but I'm back now! Thank you for reading, lovelies, and every review makes me want to write faster, so please leave reviews! Xoxo.**


	14. NotSoWelcome News

**A/N- SORRY SORRY SORRY I HAVEN'T UPDATED IN THE LONGEST TIME! To be quite honest I've been kind of at a loss with Dramione- I fell out of touch with it. But now I'm back up to my full speed and here is a chapter I cranked out for the new year! Happy New Year to all of you that favorited, put Fiery Pretenses on Story Alert, read, and reviewed! I hope the new year has great things in store for you all. I hope you enjoy this chapter and **_**please**_** do review. Reading over all of your reviews just made me want to write, resulting in this chapter **

**in one day. Thank you so much for your support! Xx**

* * *

><p>Stepping out of the Floo in her flat, Hermione gave a quick, trained glance around the room and allowed herself a quick sigh of relief. Ginny was nowhere to be found, so she could quickly Appear the Vanished shopping bags and levitate them up to her room without raising any questions from the curious redhead. With a wave of her wand shopping bags suddenly popped up, crowding the living room area with barely allowing any room to move. When Hermione opened her mouth to say '<em>Locomotor shopping bags<em>', she spotted a movement from the corner of her eye and gave a small shriek- all Auror instincts flying out the window.

Gaining her senses quickly, Hermione whipped around with her wand held menacingly in her hand. Standing there was a very surprised Ginny Weasley, staring at the mass of shopping bags with her mouth slightly parted in shock. After a brief moment of silence where neither women knew what to say, the redhead stammered out, "Wha-wha-wha… _Hermione_?"

Before Hermione had the chance to respond, she found herself suddenly pinned against the wall with Ginny's wand against her throat. With wide eyes the brunette squeaked, "What's going on, Gin?"

"In First Year, how did you become friends with my brother?" Ginny asked harshly, her brown eyes flashing.

Hermione gaped at the redhead before her. "Are you serious? You're putting a wand to my throat _now_ to review the history between me and Ron?"

"Just. Answer. The. Question," Ginny demanded.

Staring at her best friend as if she were crazy, Hermione stated, "First Year. Halloween. Quirrell let a troll into Hogwarts and I was crying in the bathroom all day so I didn't know. And of course, Ron and Harry being the idiotically heroic, but lovely all the same-"

"Okay, okay," Ginny relented, her arm with the wand in hand limply dropping to her side, "Just had to make sure."

"Make sure what!" Hermione sputtered, rubbing at the spot on her neck where Ginny had pressed her wand none too gently.

"Make sure that you were Hermione Jean Granger, of course!" the redhead cried, throwing her hands up exasperatedly.

"What? Why would you even think that I was an impos-"

When Ginny raised her eyebrows skeptically and gestured with her eyes around the room to the shopping bags that littered the living room area, Hermione gave a small 'oh'.

"You can't blame me, 'Mione! I have to _drag_ you to go shopping and even then you go clawing and fighting, shooting spells all over the place so that Harry has to _Expelliarmus_ you. And now you just suddenly show up with more than what _I_ would buy in three months?" Ginny rambled, her eyes still wide with surprise.

The brunette fidgeted with her fingers and silently thought of plausible excuses to feed to her roommate and best friend while she babbled. When Hermione still did not offer an explanation of the shopping bags, Ginny huffed in exasperation and continued, "_You_ know how much I shop. I ran out of closet space, and that's saying a lot because our closets are the size of practically half of the Burrow. But this-" she gestured to the shopping bags, "-_this_ is what I buy in the course of three months! Three! Hermione Jean Granger, you better explain yourself right now."

Chewing her lip nervously, Hermione couldn't help but to smile a little bit. Ginny looked so uncannily like Mrs. Weasley when she was angry- both of them put their hands on their hips menacingly and the two fiery women had the same eyes that flashed dangerously whenever they were frustrated. Seeing Ginny's patience wear thin, Hermione stated as convincingly as she could, "Well, I thought it was time for a change…?" her voice faltering at the end of the sentence.

The redhead narrowed her eyes even further and did not even bother to pretend that she believed the lie. Acting as if Hermione never spoke, Ginny rushed on, "It's a guy, isn't it." When Hermione said nothing, Ginny's suspicious eyes lit up and a smile stole over her face. "It's a guy?" she shrieked, hopping up and down excitedly.

Hermione put on the mask of casualness, all traces of doubt erased from her face completely. She silently thanked her Auror skills for finally kicking in as she forced a laugh. "No, Gin, not a guy. What guy would there be? The only males that I see lately are Harry, Ron, and Malfoy- two of which are my brothers and one of which is the biggest git on the planet. I'll leave it up to you to determine who's who."

It was obvious that Ginny did not believe a word of Hermione's excuse. "Hermione Jean Granger, you tell me who the guy is _this instant_!" she begged, her soft brown eyes pleading.

"There's no guy, Gin," Hermione said with a smile, "I just felt like it was time for change. You were bothering me about my wxqardrobe anyway and I just felt like a shopping spree."

Ginny Weasley simply stared at her brunette best friend. Narrowing her eyes, it was clear to see that Hermione was not planning on giving up any information tonight. '_She'll eventually tell me. She always does,_' the redhead thought to herself.

Seeing the other girls' wavering resolve, Hermione quickly flicked her wand, making the shopping bags zoom up the staircase and into her room- but not quickly enough. Ginny's eyes widened once more as she caught sight of a few shopping bags as they zoomed past her in their journey to Hermione's room.

"Jolie? Étoile Bisous? Fille Magnifique?" Ginny whispered, almost in awe. Turning to Hermione, she asked in wonder, "How did you manage to afford all of those stores? They're the most elite in Wizarding France and just _one_ thing costs at minimum five hundred Galleons!"

Hermione squeezed her eyes briefly before flashing a quick smile to Ginny. "I've been saving up since the war and quite a sum has gathered up in my vault at Gringotts. One of the benefits of having Goblin bankers is the interest rate," she lied, adding in the bit about Gringotts goblins and interest in hopes of boring Ginny away.

The redhead simply shook her head in disbelief. She stared at Hermione with curious eyes before relenting- "Fine, Hermione. But you _will_ tell me sooner or later, won't you?"

The brunette made her way over to the frustrated redhead, enveloping her in a sisterly hug. "There's nothing to tell, Gin. Just wanted a change, that's all."

Hermione gave Ginny a small smile before dashing up the stairs to her room- with Ginny's wary eyes following her all the way up to the top.

* * *

><p>With a huge sigh of relief, Hermione collapsed on her bed, her body sprawling out across it. Squeezing her eyes shut, the witch sighed once more, this time out of guilt. She hated lying to Ginny- the girl had been with her through thick and thin. From being a shoulder to cry on when Ron gave her grief, bashing on Skeeter together during late night ice-cream parties, and to being unswervingly loyal, defending Hermione from anyone who dared to utter a foul word about her, Ginny was the closest thing Hermione had to a sister.<p>

For the millionth time since both Aurors agreed to partake in the mission, Hermione thought darkly to herself about what she got herself into. It took everything that she had to stop herself from spilling everything to Ginny, to throw herself in the girl's arms and find solace. "_If it's so hard already, and it hasn't even been an official day yet, how long can I last in this mission without cracking?_" she thought forlornly, rubbing her temples.

Hermione kicked the sensible heels off her feet, which were swinging over the edge of her bed and listened with small satisfaction to the _thunk_ of the shoes as they landed somewhere on her bedroom floor. After a few minutes of lying on the bed peacefully, she jerked up into a sitting position and pushed herself off the bed. Hermione made her way to her closet, taking off her jacket on the way. Once she was in front of the large double doors that lead inside her now-filled closet, she stepped inside, hung her coat up and took a moment to glance around the space. In her whole life, this was the first time Hermione actually saw her closet space filled with clothes and not taken over by books with her garments squished to one side.

Plopping down on the floor, the brunette witch began to sort through all the bags and for the first time really _saw_ the garments which now belonged to her. During the actual shopping trip with Malfoy she had been too irked and frustrated to even notice what the salesladies had been putting on her body. It seemed as if Malfoy had thought of everything- she had a rack of new coats, blouses as well as business skirts and pants for work with blazers to match, cocktail dresses, evening gowns, lingerie, comfortable underwear, and even bikinis. As she observed the mountains of clothing, Hermione's jaw dropped slightly as she began to calculate just how much Malfoy had spent on her wardrobe. According to Ginny, one shirt from the shops at Wizarding France cost five hundred Galleons. She now owned around twenty coats, two hundred different outfits, and thirty different dresses-

Hermione felt something stab her foot and she cried out softly before looking down to see what was the source of her pain. With a gargantuan sigh she noticed that it was a large box filled with jewelry as well as a box on top of it filled to the top with different colors of eyeliners, eye shadows, lip glosses, and other assortments of make up. Never in her life had she owned such different varieties of _color_. When shopping she had always subconsciously stuck to the simple navies and maroons, and plain black dresses for outings.

"_How much money exactly did Malfoy spend on me?_" Hermione thought. "_If one shirt costs 500 galleons… he must have spent around a million plus Galleons!"_

Her hand flew to her mouth to instinctively cover her gasp. Over a _million_ Galleons? Was he out of his mind? Did image _really_ matter that much to him? Shaking her head and running a hand through her hair, Hermione did not know whether to be shocked that he would spend that much money on _her_ or guilty for spending his money so. Shaking her head once more, she thought to herself, "_Of course I shouldn't feel guilty. He's the one obsessed about image anyway- if he wasn't so keen on only being seen in public with supermodel type women without two brain cells to rub together, he wouldn't have had to spend this much money anyway._"

Yet the feeling of guilt did not leave Hermione, and in some ways the witch felt as if she was _indebted_ to the blond git. With another sigh, she retrieved her wand and muttered an incantation that sent all the bought items to their respective racks and drawers. When everything was organized, the brunette quickly changed into pajamas and slipped under the covers. All the thinking and stress from hiding her fake relationship with Malfoy from Ginny had taken a toll on her, and it wasn't long before she fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

><p>Malfoy stepped out of the Floo, muttering to himself. How dare she walk away from him before he even had a chance to respond to her condescending questions? Of course he knew what the effects of pixie dust from Faernaes when mixed with the Anti-Dragon Pox potion were, and what diluted Gillyweed has to be mixed with in order to brew the perfect Nasal Relief potion.<p>

"Pretentious bitch," he snarled under his breath as he made his way down the long hallway to reach the stairs that lead to his room. But luck would not smile upon him tonight- just as he finished insulting the brunette witch, his mother appeared to greet him in the hallway. With an amused look in her pristine blue eyes, Narcissa Malfoy asked her son, "Hard day at work, dear?"

"You have no idea," Malfoy replied, trying to keep the sharpness out of his voice. Even though his mother embarrassed him to no end in front of her friends and coddled him too much in efforts to make up for lost time during the War, she was the only reason that he knew how to love. Was it not for his mother, he would not have anyone to love, or anyone to love him. He would never admit it to anyone, but he was fiercely protective of the regal woman that stood in front of him.

As the mother and son strolled down the long hallway, Narcissa took Draco's hand absently, unperturbed when she felt his body stiffen. When the pair finally reached the grand marble staircase that lead to the second floor of the West wing, where Draco's bedroom was, the blonde witch smirked slyly. With a death grip on her son's wrist, Narcissa lead him into the parlor where she had been reading before he came home from work.

"Mother," Draco groaned, wanting nothing more than to be in his room with a nice glass of Firewhiskey to forget about Granger being insufferable through the whole day, dragging her from shop to shop while she fought him tooth and nail every time they switched stores.

"Now now, Draco, you leave me here in this huge manor alone every day with no one to talk to but the elves," the blonde witch sighed, turning sad eyes on her son.

Shaking his head, Malfoy saw straight through his mother's pretense. "Mother, you can pull that maneuver on a Gryffindor or a Hufflepuff and succeed. But you have to remember I'm a slimy Slytherin just as you are."

Pretending to be surprised, Narcissa replied, "I don't know what you're talking about, Draco, dear."

"Mother, I know you just want to know if there's something going on between Granger and I, and don't give me that _'I'm lonely'_ trash. I know you have parties and go out shopping every day with your friends- I have the bills to prove it," Draco drawled with a hint of amusement in his tone.

Not abashed in one bit that her son found out her true motives, she sipped her tea gracefully before setting the cup down and inquiring, "So? How is Miss Granger?"

"Mother, you know just as well as I do that nothing is-" he cut himself off before running a hand through his hair to stall time. "_Shite,"_ he thought, "_I'm going to have to announce my fake relationship with bloody Granger soon and Mother's going to have a huge I-told-you-so dance around the manor._"

When he said nothing more, the blonde woman raised an eyebrow before prying, "Nothing is?"

"She's an insufferable know it all."

"Yes, but far better than those no-brained women you date, is she not? Isn't it a breath of fresh air?" Narcissa teased.

Draco stood up and pressed his lips quickly on his mother's forehead before saying exasperatedly, "Goodnight, Mother. I'll see you in the morning."

As he turned to make his way to his room his mother called out, "Oh and Draco! Tell Miss Granger that she is invited to the New Year's Eve party that we're hosting and that I dearly hope that she will be there."

Groaning, he called back, "Mother, you don't even _know_ her!"

"I intend to get to know her. Make sure she comes, won't you, Draco?"

Sighing, Malfoy rubbed his forehead before replying, "I'll try my best," and sprinted up the stairs to his room.

The moment he stepped inside the part of the Manor that was specifically his, Malfoy performed a strong locking spell on his door and began to loosen his tie. Unbuttoning his dress shirt, he flung the soft material over his shoulder as well as his tie. The blond wizard felt the cool air hit his bare torso as he took off his dress pants, trading it for soft, black pajama pants.

When he was finally out of his work clothes he crashed onto the bed, on top of his sheets. Malfoy lay in the space between the two pillows on the bed with his hands tucked behind his head. Closing his eyes, the wizard let his thoughts run wild for the first time that day.

"_Mother is going to have a field day when she finds out about the sodding fake relationship- and I can't even tell her that it's fake._" The thought of his mother's knowing glances and 'I-told-you-so' looks to come already gave him a fierce headache. "_I can barely tolerate the idiotic witch and now I have to invite her to the annual New Year's Eve party?_" The blond gave a great sigh and opened his eyes. "_Maybe we can use the party to our advantage. The press will be covering the event, so it'll be easy to reveal our 'relationship' in one sweeping affair._" A small smirk stole its way across his face. "_That'll be so much better than sneaking off to public places numerous times with Granger to try and get noticed by the reporters. I can spend less time with her and have the same effect as going on numerous fake 'dates' with the bitch._"

With a small smirk still on his face, Malfoy drifted off to sleep before he knew it. He didn't realize that he never got around to drinking that much anticipated glass of Firewhiskey because his thoughts of Granger had exhausted him to sleep before he could indulge himself. Perhaps Hermione Granger was already making a change on his life and he didn't even know it.

* * *

><p>When Hermione arrived to work the next day, she set down her bag next to her desk and made to sit down in her large leather chair when a piece of parchment caught her eye. Her eyes sparkling with curiosity, she reached out and unrolled the note.<p>

'_Don't be pretentious, Granger- of course I know that pixie dust from Faernes when mixed with the Anti-Dragon Pox potion results in the Draught of Ecstacy and that diluted Gillyweed has to be mixed with the fang of a Hungarian Horntail mixed with mushed water beetles to brew the perfect Nasal Relief potion. If you're so smart, why don't you tell me what the Wolfsbane potion must be mixed with in order to procure Werewolf posion?_"

There was no signature, but there was no need for one- his confident drawl was practically tangible through his note. It was as if his words alone marked his signature. Shaking her head, Hermione felt as if she was in Third Year once more, having a battle of 'Who's Smarter'. But Hermione Granger being Hermione Granger, she couldn't turn down a battle of wits. Before even taking her coat off, she took out a piece of parchment from a drawer in her desk and quickly wrote jotted down the reply-

"_Malfoy, anyone who paid attention to Professor Snape in Potions would remember that silver powder mixed with the Wolfsbane potion results in Werewolf poison. It's also a bit of common sense, really. If you think you're so high and mighty, what year did the Dragon Wars begin?"_

-and sent it off in the Inter-Office Memo system. Only then did she take off her jacket to sling it over the back of her chair and settle down, taking the files pertaining to the case out. Before she had a chance to flip open the folders, a memo came zooming to her desk.

"_Granger, that's so obvious a troll would be able to answer it. To Hell with just the year- what do you think me as? Daft? The Dragon Wars started in the year 1342 because of Ompheric Gagglewild and Lygold Schmaers- for reasons I'd hope you know. But then again, I always knew that you were all talk. Anyway, the Dragon Wars began on September 15__th__ and ended three years later on June 1__st__."_

To say that Hermione was impressed was an understatement. She had simply asked for the year, and if she was being honest, Hermione herself had to think for a long time before remembering who caused the Dragon Wars and did not recall what exact dates the War had started and ended on. She reached out for the note and read over it once more, chewing on her lip with a worried expression. Malfoy had outdone her and she had to make sure he never found out or she'd never hear the end of it. With a determined look on her face, the brunette witch stood up and walked confidently up to the door that conjoined her office and Malfoy's, throwing it open before stepping into his office.

* * *

><p>Malfoy had been reading through the files once more and checking to see if there were any updates in the case when Hermione burst through the door. Although he was surprised at her grand entrance, the blond wizard did pride to the Malfoy name, keeping a cool exterior and only raising a perfect blond eyebrow to acknowledge her presence.<p>

"Good morning to you too, Malfoy," Hermione huffed in annoyance, crossing her arms over her chest.

Malfoy's aloof silver eyes gave her a once-over from head to toe before his face turned into a mask of disapproval.

"Granger, where the hell are the clothes that I bought you yesterday?"

"I don't want any of them," the brunette replied defensively, crossing her arms even tighter over her chest.

Malfoy was delayed from replying when he noticed that her cleavage was in full view from the way she crossed her arms. It seemed as if it were teasing him, peeping out over the modest white blouse she had on, which made it even more bloody inviting…

Hermione gave an impatient huff that shook Malfoy back to reality. Shaking his head and running a hand through his fine blond hair, he mentally berated himself. '_It's effing __**Granger**__. Fuck, I need to get laid_.'

Silently clearing his throat, he asked in frustration, "What do you mean, _you don't want them_? We went through this conversation already. I need to maintain an image, and you need to ease your way into Pureblood society starting with your outward appearance. It benefits both you and me, not that I care about your comfortability. This is something that needs to be done so that we don't need to worry about elite Pureblood families out for your blood on top of this killer."

"Image is over-rated, Malfoy! I told you, I'm not going to be one of those idiots that cling to your arm telling you how _pretty_ you are-"

Malfoy began to raise his voice. "Are you _deaf_? I just listed all the bloody reasons why image is important and did _any_ of it get through your thick skull?"

"-not to mention that the price of the items are _completely_ ridiculous and I couldn't afford to keep living like-"

Hermione stopped herself before she said anymore. With an internal groan, she realized that she had said too much.

"Is this what this is about?" Malfoy asked, his tone back to normal. "Money?"

Hermione said nothing, standing there simply fiddling with her hands.

Sighing, the blond stated in a tone that almost seemed… gentle? "Granger. Don't worry about money. I got that taken care of."

Hermione began to protest, "I went home and calculated it- we must've spent over a million Galleons just yesterday alone-"

He waved his hand dismissively. "That's nothing on the Malfoy fortune, Granger. Not even one billionth of it. Don't worry about the economic aspect. It's mostly my fault that you need a wardrobe change-"

The witch raised her eyebrows- was he actually being _civil_ to her?

"-not that it doesn't benefit you, of course. You don't have to dress like a deranged grandmother anymore," he finished with a smirk.

Hermione shook her head. Of course he had to ruin his almost-nice speech with a direct insult at her wardrobe choices. To change the topic, she donned her most professional manner and said, "We should talk about the terms of the mission and write it down formally in a contract."

Malfoy gave her a calculating stare with his silver orbs. Then he opened his mouth to say, "Well then, Granger. I guess this is a good time to tell you that you'll be moving into the Manor very soon."

* * *

><p><strong>AN- Hey there, love! I hope you liked the chapter, and please leave me a review on what you thought and give me any feedback that you have It would make my day. If you have any questions, feel free to ask and I hope this chapter was a fun one to read. Once again, HAPPY NEW YEAR! I have the next chapter already planned out, so please review and encourage me to update. It'll mean the world to me. Thank you so much for taking the time to read all the way down here xx**


	15. AN: New Chapter to Come!

Wow; my apologies to all of the amazingly lovely readers and followers and reviewers—I've been so shamefully neglectful of this story. I've lost inspiration along the way without even realizing it, and with each day I didn't update it seems that I lost more and more inspiration. Looking at the reviews and the story now, though, I believe that I'm going to continue and finish what I've started—I already have tons of angst planned out for you all! Thank you all for your incredible patience, and a thousand apologies for my neglect. Keep an eye out for a chapter to come soon; there will also be minor editing to the first few chapters as my writing there makes me cringe!

x


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